Abandoned to the Cold
by AnnAisu
Summary: Harry, trapped with the Dursleys by Dumbledore over Christmas break, finds a snake out in the cold. After taking him in and naming him Riddle, Harry digs even deeper into his mind and into magic, encouraged by the aptly named 'snake.' Abusive Dursleys. M
1. Abandoned to the Cold

**Abandoned to the Cold**

-  
**Authors note: This is my first story, so I would appreciate lots of ****Constructive**** criticism and help, if you would. I would also love any questions or comments you might make, even if it is just as simple "nice." I have realized I tend to put in many commas and dashes; I am sorry, and I am working on that.  
Disclaimer: No, I do not own any thing, characters included. My ideas were taken from a mesh of many other people, combined, and personalized. BlackenedNightshade in particular, the story 'Seeking Warmth' gave me the initial idea.  
Warning: Possible beating later on. Uncle Vernon is quite the horrid character.  
Pairings: I have no idea. What happens happens.**

**1**

~/\~

^-^ Abandoned to the Cold -^-

~\/~

Harry stomped through the streets, fuming at Dumbledore, Voldemort, his friends, his 'family', and at the world in general. Why in the name of all that was holy or unholy was he stuck at the Dursley's? It was not summer. It was not fall, nor even spring. No, it was the middle of stinking December, and was he having a happy, happy holiday indeed.

Dumbledore had decided (without consulting Harry) that he would have to go to the Dursleys. For Christmas. Alone. With no owls or letters. For. No. Reason.

Well, Dumbledore claimed he had a reason. Supposedly, the blood wards protecting Harry that had been constructed from Lilly's sacrifice were failing because Harry did not consider Number 4, Privet Drive, his home. Dumbledore had decided to 'fix' that by forcing Harry to spend Christmas break there. Harry knew it would not work. There was no way in the world, heaven, or hell that could get him to consider his personal little hellhole home. Just prison.

Now he was stuck with the Dursleys, and no one would do anything about it. No one cared and no one could come. He had been abandoned by everyone the moment Professor Dumbledore had opened his mouth. They had all just smiled and said, "Dumbledore knows best!" Not one would listen to him, and not even Ron or Hermione had listened to his pleas. No one would owl him, floo him, rescue him, or attempt to call or contact him in any way, shape, or form. Thank you, Dumbledore. Being locked and secluded at my Uncle's for Christmas is truly going to make me call that prison 'home' and then the blood wards will stand strong and Voldemort will never come and kill me. Quite the genius idea, Dumbledore. The only thought that might surpass it would be Dumbledore growing a brain.

Harry truly hated being left at the Dursleys. With Dumbledore personally delivering him, with his cursed twinkle in his eye, and his assurance that "Harry's family is allowed to take Harry anywhere and do anything with him, with no fear from the wizarding world," Harry knew his Christmas break had just been royally screwed over. Without anyone around, the Dursleys would truly make his life a misery and mercilessly abuse him. Harry would have given anything to have someone there with him. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Malfoy, Snape, or even Voldemort would help! Harry winced as his scar hurt viciously at the thought of the snake-man.

Harry trod into a nearby park, still grumbling quietly to himself. He was about to put his foot down when he heard a voice hiss _::Do not step on me, imbecile!::_

Harry stopped midstride as his eyes widened. On the ground, in the snow, was a thin, six-foot long snake. It was shivering and shaking uncontrollably, with its head lifted weakly off the ground to look him in the face. The white snake gave a huge shudder, pulling at Harry's heartstrings and distracting him from his aching scar and bad mood.

_::Are you all right?::_ Harry hissed at the snake. If it answered no, he knew he would do his best to help it in any way he could. Since he could not fix his own situation, he could try to help this snake with his instead, if needed.

_::Of course I am not all right, you pathetic idiot! I was thrown into the frigid streets in the middle of the blooming winter, and I am a cold-blooded snake! Oh yes, I am doing just fine here, freezing to my humiliating death!:: _The snake spat out at him even as a shiver wracked its body again.

Harry blinked. This snake was obviously in a bit of a temper. Understandable, really, since it was slowly approaching its death. _::Would you mind it if I helped you?::_

The snake looked up at Harry and glared at him with blood colored eyes shining darkly against its pure white appearance. Harry tried to stifle a shriek and jumped back, feeling as if the snake's gaze was as dangerous as Voldemort's. _::Scared of me, just because I do not look so pretty with my eyes open? I will have you know, I may look deadly and I am, but I am an exceedingly rare snake!::_ It hissed, and opened its mouth threateningly as if to bite Harry, showing dangerous fangs.

_::S-sorry, you just startled me. Calm down, and if you are cold, I will help you warm up, if you want.:: _Harry could not help it, the snake looked so helpless. Even though it appeared to be dying , it was holding onto its life and its words. This magnificent creature would bow down to nothing and nobody. Harry wondered how long it had been there, and how it could have possibly survived so far. When the snake made no move or response, Harry slowly crouched down and gingerly extended his arm to the snake. _::I promise I won't hurt you or abandon you if you come with me. I'll help protect you.::_

_::Are you seriousss? I can kill you with just a quick bite, and I am tempted to do just that!::_ The snake appeared to want to accept, but it also appeared wary of accepting Harry's help.

Harry rolled his eyes_. ::Yes, and then we would both die out here. Look, you can change your mind once you are beyond the reach of death. If you stay out here any longer in the cold, you are probably going to end up dead.::_

The snake seemed torn between pride and life. With a frustrated hiss, it slithered towards Harry. _::Fine then, snake-speaker. Get me out of this wretched cold. Maybe I won't kill you at this moment.::_

Harry rolled his eyes, but he gingerly picked up the snake. _::If you don't mind, I will hang you over my shoulders like a boa and cover you with my coat.:: _The snake hissed and sighed, and Harry did just as he had said. The snake shivered, then stuck its tail down Harry's shirt. Harry yelped. _::That's cold!::_

_::Deal with it. You are the one who offered help in the first place, now see it through! I need heat, and your body heat will do quite nicely. So suck it up, I am freezing here!:: _The snake wrapped whatever part of its body that had not fit down Harry's back around his neck, resembling an insanely large, white necklace

Harry laughed softly, aware that the snake could kill him at any moment and take his body heat as his life faded away. _::All right, all right, just don't choke me, okay?::_ Harry began walking back to his 'home'. He hated it there, but it was warmer and the snake needed more heat. He walked in silence, before talking to the snake again. _::I am taking you to my 'home', my prison, where we will be warmer. I am afraid I will have to warn you, my family completely hates me. You are going to have to hide, and I will pray that they do not immediately beat me tonight. You would probably kill them if they came too close, wouldn't you? I personally would not mind, but it would most likely break the wards set around the house and thus make my suffering here completely worthless. ::_

The snake unwrapped itself enough so he could rise up and look at Harry face-to-face. _::Wards?::_

_::Barriers. They are meant to keep me safe and protect me from any random Dark Lords that stray across my path.::_ Harry snorted. _::Aside from muggles, anyone that is not related to me or sharing blood with me will be unable to come across without my conscious and completely willing decision.::_ Harry sighed. _::You will be fine. After all, I am bringing you in voluntarily. While we are on the topic of my protections, I would advise against thinking of killing me inside the house while I am around. My aunt and uncle complain that it causes them no small amount of pain and headaches whenever they attempt to do so, and it has been that way for years. If my blood relatives have that reaction from the wards, I shudder to think at what might happen to you in said situation.::_

The snake stared at him, speechless. Harry could practically feel his shock. After a minute, Harry grew quite concerned. _::Are you all right?::_

_::Am I all right? Are YOU all right? You just said your family entertains thoughts of killing you and neither your face nor your voice wavered for even one second! Are you stupid? Why do you stay here?::_ The snake seemed furious now, swaying back and forth.

Harry shrugged. _::It keeps me alive.::_

The snake waited for more. When it realized no other explanation was forthcoming, it sighed. _::How am I supposed to kill you now?::_ it hissed softly.

Harry laughed. _::I suppose you will have to stick with me for a while then. After all, if you do not kill me I can help you, right?::_ Harry paused. _::We will be there soon, so please hide and hope for the best.::_

The snake slithered down so that it wrapped Harry's waist like a belt, before pulling his head back up Harry's shirt and whispering in his ear. _::I have your back covered for surprise attacks.::_

Harry gave a quiet laugh_.::They mostly stopped that when I was seven and I unconsciously used magic on them all. Surprising an underage wizard with no control on their magical powers in order to do bodily harm is never a good idea. Even the retarded Dursleys were smart enough to figure out that. At least, they did after a few…unpleasant incidents. You had better hide now that we are here. We would not like them to see you now, would we?::_

The snake lowered its serpentine head. _::I can hide my presence magically. They will never see me unless I want them to, and after I bite them, of course.:: _

_::Don't you mean _if_ you bite them?:_: Harry whispered before the door opened.

"MUMMY! DADDY! The freak is back!" Dudley had opened the door. The snake let out a low hiss from where it was hidden.

"BOY! ROOM! NOW!" Uncle Vernon yelled from where he lay sprawled out on the sofa. "You had better not set one FOOT outside your room before I come in to deal with you! The MOMENT my show is over, you WILL learn your lesson!"

Harry flinched. "Yes Uncle Vernon," he muttered before running up the stairs to his room. He opened the door and closed it behind him, then turned to throw himself onto the bed. He lurched to a stop as he realized that the action would have squashed his passenger. He slowly took off his coat and jacket, leaving only a long, ragged, obviously handed down shirt on. It covered him midway to his thighs once he untucked it. He gently pulled the snake off himself and placed it on the bed.

The snake curled up as Harry lay gently down beside it Harry's hand slowly reached out and began stroking it. The snake hissed and slowly moved closer. Harry felt its slow approach. _::It's okay. You are still freezing and I am a good heat source. Unlike you, I won't bite, so you can move closer if you just swallow your pride. It won't kill you, you know.::_ Harry gave a small smile.

_::You know, I might still kill you.::_ the snake hissed. Harry shrugged, rolling his shoulders up and down while the snake slowly curled up on his chest.

_::It would be an ironic death. The "great Boy-Who-Lived," the parseltongue who lived through numerous death-defying encounters with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the most powerful Dark Lord since Grindelwald and possibly centuries before him, was sent home to be safe and subsequently met his death at the fangs of a snake. Oh, that would be a horribly rich irony! The press would have a complete field day with that- Rita would probably claim I talked the snake into biting me so I could commit suicide.:: _Harry snorted. _::If you killed me, I would have to stay as a ghost just to see how everybody responded. Hmmm…now, I am wondering whether I actually want you to kill me or not…::_

_::You fight the Dark Lord often, then?::_ The snake seemed a little angry, now.

_::Yeah, on average once a year since I turned 11. Why? Do you know him?::_

_::The fool who kept and tried to kill me did. He was constantly afraid that this Dark Lord would come and kill him, so I eventually began rooting for this person. The fool often read the newspaper articles about him aloud, so I listened in and learned about his noble campaign. My fool owner was quite mad; I am exceedingly glad to be rid of him. How did you, a mere child of 16, defeat the decades old greatest wizard who lived?:: _The snake seemed truly curious, raising its head to look at Harry.

Harry could not decide if he should be flattered or angered. _::I must argue with you about some points later-I mean, noble cause? Killing over half of the wizard population? –but I will debate that with another time. He tried to kill me in my first year several times from the back of my DADA- Defense Against the Dark Arts- teachers head. In one of my Quidditch matches, he jinxed my broom to throw me off, but Snape stopped him. Later, he tried to kill me in the Forbidden Forest after I- and Malfoy, the coward- saw him drinking unicorn blood, but a brave centaur named Firenze saved me. At the end of the year, I beat him before he got the Sorcerer's Stone with the power of my mother's love.:: _Harry snorted. Mothers love, like no other mother ever died for her child.

_::In my second year, his memory of his 16 year old self that was sealed in a diary, which I later found out was a Horocrux-::_ the snake hissed _::-tried to unleash a basilisk on the school. Not just any basilisk, The Basilisk that originally belonged to Salazar Slytherin! When we realized that his diary was possessing Ginny Weasley- who Malfoy had planted with for personal revenge- she was taken down into the Chamber of Secrets. Being a parseltongue, whether it was naturally or from the cursed bond I share with Voldemort, I was able to go down into the chambers and saved her. Anyways, after I defeated the Basilisk-::_

The snake interrupted, hissing violently. _::WHAT! You defeated the basilisk! How in the name of all that's unholy and holy did you manage that! The basilisk is the King of Serpents; it would not just lie down and let some young fool defeat it!::_

Harry scowled. _::That would be just plain insulting, if the story was not so unbelievable to begin with. Yes, I defeated the basilisk. After Riddle sent the basilisk after me, saying that he was the greatest wizard who ever lived, I yelled that it was Dumbledore who was truly the greatest wizard.:: _The snake hissed again in anger. _::Yeah, I know better now, but I didn't back then. Anyways, his Phoenix, Fawkes, came down and brought the old school sorting hat with it. While Riddle was mocking me, Fawkes distracted and blinded the basilisk and I pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat.:: _The snake softly hissed in disbelief. _::The basilisk could still track me with its sense of smell, but I could look at it without a fear of instant death. As the basilisk lunged at me, I stabbed it through the roof of its mouth and speared its brain even as one of its fangs latched off in my arm.::_ Harry pulled back the sleeve of his T-Shirt –it extended past his elbow- to show off his scar. The snake stared at it, cautiously flicking its tongue at the scar. Harry gave a slight, hissing giggle. _::I would have died, but as Riddle was mocking me, Fawkes cried phoenix tears into my wound, healing me and restoring my strength. As Ginny lay there with her strength draining away, I took the basilisk fang and drove a hole through the diary. Riddle died, as the ink linked out of his diary, the Horocrux. Oh, a Horocrux is the darkest of magics, created by ripping your soul in half and sealing it in an object as you slowly go mad, guaranteed to survive until the Horocrux is destroyed. Ginny returned to life, and Voldemort was defeated again.::_

The snake hissed, anger showing clearly in its eyes. _::H-hey…are you alright? Snake?:: _The snake snapped at him, then slowly lowered its head back onto Harry's chest.

_::Sorry,:: _it started slowly, _::I just can't believe that. You have impeccable luck. There is no other reason you are alive right now.::_

Harry grinned. _::What, my natural talent had nothing to do with it? No, I agree with you. That is why it's so sickening how the entire wizarding world is relying on me. If they were not so pathetic, I would just abandon them. As it is though, I will never abandon them. I would, and probably will, give up my life for any of them. Voldemort knows this, and he is not afraid to play dirty and use this against me. Any lead he can make, he will take. He proved it last year, and it got my godfather killed.::_ Harry sighed. _::Oh well. Hey, snake- I can't keep thinking of you as just that. You do have a name, don't you? Can you tell me?::_

The snake hissed, long and loud. _::I will not use the name my owner gave to me ever again! I would rather be called dirt than have any link remaining with him.::_

Harry looked down at him, shocked at the snakes pride and conviction. _::Alright, then may I give you a name?:: _The snake looked at him carefully, then slowly nodded. _::Based on your attitude, your puzzling yet proud nature, and whom you look up to, I think you should be named Riddle. The Dark Lord Voldemort's original name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. If you make an anagram of that, it comes out "I am Lord Voldemort." He doesn't care for it all too much, so he probably won't mind you using it. What do you think?::_

The snake stayed silent for a moment, then slowly nodded his head in acceptance. _::I suppose that is a fitting name.::_ Riddle looked as if he was going to say more, but Harry froze when he heard a noise coming from downstairs.

_::Hide! Quickly! My uncle is coming, and I don't want you in harm's way!::_ Shifting quickly, Harry managed to gently lift the snake and stand up, and quickly carried Riddle to a shadowed corner of the room and hid him behind a pile of rags. _::Stay there and stay silent, no matter what, okay?::_ Harry had a panicked look in his eye as he begged Riddle to listen. _::Please, I'm sorry, just please don't do anything and stay out of the way!:: _The snake sighed, and nodded.

Harry sighed in relief, and backed away slowly. _::Thank you. I promise I'll make it up later.:: _As the sounds below moved towards the stairs, Harry moved slowly to the door, standing far enough back he wouldn't be hit if it swung open. It was a wise precaution because just moments later the door swung open with a loud crash. Riddle jumped in his little corner, but Harry had been expecting it and barely flinched.

"Boy! I have told you, you do NOT leave this house! What if the neighbors saw you and your freakishness?" Vernon screamed at Harry, spittle flying. Harry made no move, knowing it would only enrage his uncle further. He just hung his head as his uncle raged at him, waxing on about how freaky he was and how the Dursleys had taken him in out of the goodness of their hearts. "BOY! Are you even listening?" Harry flinched as he nodded his head. "Have you learned your lesson this time?" Harry cringed back and nodded vigorously.

"I don't think so!" Vernon advanced and Harry cringed back, knowing what was going to happen. Vernon raised his fist and began pummeling Harry. Harry felt the fist hit his skin, crushing his arm with Vernon's immense weight behind it. As he pulled back, Harry's arm began to feel the burn of pain coming from the quickly forming bruise. He began slowly, but soon began alternating between kicking and punching. His blows were hard and fierce, and he put so much effort into them he could barely talk. After many agonizing minutes, he began slowing, merely punching the barely standing Harry, but his punches held all the force of a raging rhinoceros herd. "We" punch- "have" punch- "To" punch- "Pound" extra hard punch, and a nasty crack- "This lesson" punch- "IN!" Another sickening crack, and Harry was thrown back onto the semi-hard lump he called a bed. He bit off a cry of pain as Vernon snorted and left the room, slamming the door closed behind him. Harry heard him say something about learning his lesson as his vision started to blacken.

Harry groaned, barely managing to hold on and stay conscious. He slowly dragged himself up and began cataloging his injuries. His right arm was at an awkward angle, and blood was seeping out from where the bone broke the skin. Pain was sending white-hot flashes through his mind, killing his thoughts. With great effort, he managed to concentrate._::Sh-! I can't believe he actually did that much damage to my wand arm!::_ He gingerly felt at his chest with his left hand, and winced as he realized that some of his ribs had been broken. He sighed, flinching as his chest flamed in agony. _::Can- can you bring me the bandages near you?:: _He asked the snake quietly, his hiss barely louder than a breath.

Riddle slowly slid out of his hiding spot. Grabbing some cloths from nearby with his fangs, he moved onto Harry's bed. He dropped the rags near Harry's left hand, and surveyed the damage. _::You came here to be safe?:: _His voice was dry, and held a huge amount of incredulous disbelief. Harry gave a weak chuckle, wincing as the movements jarred his chest. He slowly forced his arm bone back into place, biting back a scream and letting out a low whimper. Panting, he bandaged the arm one-handedly as the blood dripped onto his 'bed.' After his arm was painstakingly wrapped, he moved onto bandaging his chest.

_::It's not as bad as it looks:: _Harry said weakly. _::I am actually decent at wandless magic now, so I can heal myself easily enough. Just- give me a minute.::_ Harry closed his eyes and began concentrating on healing his injuries. His bone gradually knit itself back together beneath his flesh. The bleeding slowed, then stopped as new skin appeared to cover the wound. Harry sighed with relief as his chest bones repaired themselves and grew stronger. His breathing steadied, so it was no longer harsh panting breaths. Riddle watched silently.

When Harry was done almost twenty minutes later, Riddle breathed out a slow, snaky whistle. ::_I thought you said you were just decent at wandless magic! I'm actually impressed, boy! How did you learn it? I thought Hogwarts didn't teach wandless and wordless magic!::_

Harry looked at Riddle curiously before replying. _::They don't. I taught myself, when I was young. The Dursleys never were very…hospitable, so I had to learn quickly or die.:: _Harry shrugged slowly, wincing as he pulled at his still tender chest. _::It's a sink or swim world out here. I chose to swim. I just did not have the benefit of rafts and other floatation devices other luckier kids have, nor a steadying parent to hold me safe.::_

Riddle let out a quiet laugh. _::No, instead you got a raging riptide and a murderous shark out after your blood.::_

Harry laughed softly with him, trying not to pull the attention of the Dursleys. _::Truly, you have a great amount of wit. If Voldemort knew you were named after him, he might almost feel proud to share his name.:: _He quieted for a moment, then sighed. _::Thanks for staying put. I just need to pretend that I never recovered for Uncle Vernon's benefits. He knows I heal fairly quickly, but I never let on exactly how quickly I heal. The bandages help in the healing and hide the extent of the wound from the Dursleys eyes. All they know is they can beat me however much they wish and I won't die, no matter what they do. Once, Dudley was truly angry with me and let out a flying punch at my throat. I couldn't dodge, and I very nearly died that day. It was the first true test of my abilities. I managed to reconstruct my throat before I choked to death. Of course, the punishment for my indiscretions became much harsher after that.::_

Riddle watched Harry, and then he moved the unused rags back to the corner where he had found them. As Harry lay down on his bed, the snake moved back up to him, and lay down next to him as they both succumbed to nightmares of harsh treatment and dreams of a more peaceful future.

**Original Posted: June 16, 2010  
Slight update: November 10, 2010  
Words: 4,258 without author's notes**


	2. The Freak and the Protected

**Authors note: This is my first story, so I would appreciate lots of Constructive criticism and help, if you would. I would also love any questions or comments you might make, even if it's just as simple "nice." I have realized I tend to put in many commas and dashes; I am sorry, and I am working on that.  
Disclaimer: No, I do not own any thing, characters included. My ideas were taken from a mesh of many other people, combined, and personalized. BlackenedNightshade in particular, the story 'Seeking Warmth' gave me the initial idea.  
Warning: Gross moment with Dudley. Nothing to bad, just yellow snow. And thoughts of suicide.  
Pairings: I have no idea. What happens, happens.**

**Sorry everyone for taking so long! Thank you everybody who put me on the review list and commented! I apreciate the ideas and compliments! And -bonus- no flamers yet! Whoo! Sorry about the depressing tone, but I wasn't in the best of moods. Point out any mistakes, and I will be sure to fix them! Thank you!**

**Abandoned to the Cold**

**2**

~/\~

-^- The Freak and the Protected ^-^

~\/~

Harry woke up quickly at precisely 5:30 in the morning. He began lunging out of bed, but he quickly stopped himself when he realized there was a snake lying next to and partially on him. He slowly sat up instead, gently dislodging the snake. Riddle blinked and raised his head sleepily, awakened by the sudden absence of warmth. He seemed disoriented for a few minutes as Harry waited quietly for him to wake up. When the serpent appeared to be thinking coherently, Harry started talking. _::Good morning. Are you feeling alright today?::_

It took another minute for the snake to respond._::Oh, just perfectly awake when I should be sleeping. Why are you awake at such an abominable part of the day?:: _Riddle seemed extremely irritated, and he made it quite clear in his hissing.

Harry sighed. _::I need to go make breakfast for my uncle and the rest of his family before he goes to work. It will take a while, so you can just stay in my room and hide until I come back. The sheets should stay warm for a small while, at least until I return.:: _The snake lowered its head and proceeded to go back to sleep as Harry headed downstairs to make breakfast, softly closing his door behind him.

Expertly avoiding the creaky step, Harry went into the kitchen, remembering to favor his right hand as he barely stopped himself from whistling cheerfully. He had someone to talk with! True, it was not Ron or Hermione, but a snake was a hell of a lot better than Snape or Voldemort! Thinking of the man, Harry's scar gave another vicious throb. It had never really stopped hurting last night, but it had faded in the wake of Vernon's beating. In the light of morning, the pain had returned with a dull ache, reminiscent of an old bruise. Harry sighed and began making a breakfast fit for a king. This was because Vernon thought of himself as a king in his house. Whatever the reason, the breakfasts Harry made had to be abso-stinking-lutely _perfect_ before he had a chance at earning food.

After breakfast, Harry would normally check the list of chores that was attached to the refrigerator. Aunt Petunia updated the list constantly and screamed at Harry if he did not complete his chores before the sun set. If he did, and did so without complaining or looking 'shifty' all day, something he had no control over as his Aunt made up the fact that he was looking at her funny, then he had a good chance of receiving a small portion of whatever he cooked for dinner. When he was lucky and his aunt was in a good mood, he could occasionally earn a small lunch as well. However, this was unlikely to be the case today.

This morning, Vernon would likely be in a horrid mood because Harry had snuck out the night before, so Harry poured all the attention he could into his food. He willed it to be tasty and soothe Vernon's mood. He felt his magic rise up at his request, and an idea hit him. If Vernon even guessed what Harry was doing, he would be signing his death warrant, but if Harry's idea worked, he wouldn't have to worry about another beating.

As Harry worked on the food, he wandlessly willed the food to be tastier and copy the effects of a weak Cheering charm. Hopefully, it would soothe Vernon's temper, but not so much it would catch the man's notice. Harry prayed as he completed the cooking and dished out the food. He retreated upstairs as Dudley thundered down, shoving Harry into the wall unnecessarily. Harry felt his newly healed arm buckle under the weight Dudley was shoving onto him- roughly the tonnage of a teenage whale. Harry bit back another scream and went up the stairs, focusing on healing his arm and avoiding his Uncle.

He gently collapsed onto his bed, maneuvering so he avoided Riddle and barely disturbed the bed at all. Riddle noticed anyways, and sluggishly began moving. _::What's for breakfast?:: _

Harry sighed, and sat back up. He responded while re-healing his arm. _::When I go out to do gardening this morning, I will point you out the mice living in our yard. I never killed any mice when I caught them, just moved them aside, so there should be enough to tide you over for a few weeks until I go back to Hogwarts. When we go there, if you are still with me, I will be able to take you into the kitchens and I can get the house elves to help. They love to help, and always shove mountains of food at my friends and me whenever we visit the kitchens, so they'll probably do the same for you.:: _Harry hesitated. _::I know you are a proud beast, so will you be okay with this? I'm sorry, but you'll have to catch the food on your own now and later deal with it being brought to you. If you're okay with that, we had better go outside and start on my chores before Aunt Petunia comes in and starts yelling at me. She isn't physically abusive, but her tongue is as sharp as a barb. I… try not to listen, but her words worm into my heart, and cut into it from the inside, often laying deeper into my mental scars and tormenting my thoughts….to put it poetically.:: _He tried laughing it off, but even he could hear the pain in his voice, so he stopped.

Harry waited for the snake to absorb this. After a few minutes, Riddle sighed and slithered onto Harry's outstretched hand. _::I suppose that if you can deal with that, I can deal with the problems with food.:: _Harry grinned, solemn mood forgotten, \and looped Riddle around his neck and chest. He waited until Riddle appeared mostly invisible in his sight.

_::You said the muggles wouldn't notice you. How do you do that?:: _Harry asked as he walked outside.

Riddle stayed silent until they made it outside. _::I said I was a magical snake. I use one of my natural abilities to disillusion myself- all anyone else can see is whatever is behind me unless I move extremely quickly. Then, I just look like a slight blurring of colors. No one will notice me unless I will so.:: _A snaky sigh was heard, and Riddle shimmered into Harry's sight. _::I suppose it would be prudent to allow you to see me.::_

Harry grinned as he bent into weeding. _::Sorry it's so cold out. The mice are over there.:: _Harry stopped working to discreetly point at a small hole in the foundation of the house. _::When you're done, you can go inside, wait with me, or leave, if you want to.:: _Harry shrugged. _::I would prefer it if you stayed, but I would not presume to tie you down if you wanted to go anywhere::_

Riddle snorted as he went in the direction Harry pointed. _::Really, now. I said I was abandoned- where, exactly, do you expect me to go?::_

Harry laughed. _::I just thought I would offer. This way, I'm not forcing you to do anything.::_

Time passed as Harry worked in the garden. Even though it was winter, there was still plenty to do. He had to shift any snow away from the plants within 3 feet in any direction. He also had to trim the plants, as they were looking rather derelict from being abandoned while he was at school. He had to do all this without any tools or assistance. Soon, he was feeling the cold bite at him through his jacket. It was a slow and painstaking process, and Riddle had caught his mice and was ready to go back inside long before Harry was done. However, Harry had forgotten that the snake could not get back inside before him when he offered to let the snake go back to his room, so Riddle kept Harry company through his outside chores.

Riddle was curious about why Harry helped him, and after a while, asked Harry to explain. Harry paused to shrug before explain. _::How could I not? You were in distress, and in dire need of help. I could offer assistance, so I did. I might pay for it later, but as I will help anyone and anything in need if I can, and sometimes when I think I can't.::_

Riddle was silent for a few minutes as Harry continued working. _::I can't really understand that. You said it was a sink or swim world, so why do you try to help?::_

Harry waited for a moment before replying, never pausing in his work. _::Are you saying I shouldn't? You would be dead now otherwise.:: _Harry's tone was slightly amused as he gently teased the snake.

The snake hissed out a yell. _::I never said I was ungrateful, I just asked why!::_

Harry realized that the cold was probably not helping the snakes temper any and decided not to get mad at the snake for yelling at him, and instead decided to reply patiently. _::I said it's a sink or swim world, not a dog-eat-dog world. I play the part of the lifeguard at the beach and try to save anyone I can and offer a helping hand. It saves lives, relationships, and other people from some suffering. At a small, or sometimes not-quite-so-small, cost to myself, I can help others. My heart just would not let me do anything else.:: _Harry shrugged. _::Hermione, one of my best friends and a real bookworm, says I have a saving people thing. She both admires and pities me for it, I think. I do know that if more people had my attitude, then maybe there would be no need for such extreme attitudes in the first place.::_

_::But what if there were people who don't deserve saving? Say, for example, your so-called 'family?':: _Riddle seemed extremely thoughtful after asking this, and waited intently for Harry's answer.

Harry took a few minutes to think about it, warring with himself. He fought his hatred until he felt he could make an unbiased decision. _::They have earned retribution. They should be punished for their cruelty, but they should be judged fairly. Once they have paid a penance for their transgressions, they should be given a chance, with no help.::_

Riddle seemed annoyed by the answer. _::What would you suggest their punishment be?:: _He could barely contain himself, and he was wriggling in place while he waited for Harry's answer.

Harry had to stop for a minute to calm the writhing snake, gently laying a hand on its head until it stopped. While he did this, he was thinking frantically. _::I would…would..::_

Riddle calmed slightly, covering his tension, but just barely. _::If they could pay anything for their crimes, death or torture, what would you have them pay?::_

Harry couldn't talk for a moment. Then he let out a heavy sigh and leaned back. _::I guess I would-::_ As Harry took a breath to say something, Dudley threw open the door. Harry flinched back to his work with a low hiss. _::Hide! Get off of me!::_

Riddle was clearly angered as he slithered off Harry, muttering foul obscenities under his breath. Harry was almost impressed out of his terror, and committed many of the phrases to memory. Even distracted as he was by the snake, he could not stop the shivers that just barely made his hands tremble as Dudley approached. He knew this was not going to be a pleasant discussion with his cousin.

Dudley waddled closer, a disgusting look of cruelty disgracing his fat face. "Poor little Harry. Stuck out in the cold, with no food or water. Oh wait!" Dudley paused and looked dramatically around. "There is water! Lucky you, Potter! I know how thirsty you were! But snow isn't good enough for you like this, is it?" Dudley sneered, and a very nasty thought crossed his mind and made itself known on his face. "Just wait, Potter. I'll bring you something that suits your tastes." Dudley gave out a laugh.

Harry shuddered. Knowing how sick Dudley was, he had a few guesses as to what he was going to do this time. He managed to stay calm and silent while Dudley went inside and grabbed a large mixing bowl. He brought it back outside, and began haphazardly filling it with snow, making sure every other handful hit Harry and the bushes. Harry shivered as cold snow dripped down his back.

Dudley finally filled the container and brought it back inside. Harry quietly kept working as he waited for Dudley to return. He always did. He was the whale of cruelty, like his father was the walrus of violence and his mother was the horse of guilt. All three warred to cause Harry the most pain. He honestly was not sure which was the winner at the moment, but he felt that it might be Vernon after the broken wand arm incident. He did not know what Dudley had for him yet, though. For all Harry knew, it could be despicable enough to place him at the temporary top for the day.

Voldemort had once been on his list of top torturers, but he had been thrown off the summer after his return. Occasionally during the school year, someone else would surface to the top of the list, but the Dursleys always returned to the top in the end. Once Dumbledore had hit the top, and so had a number of other people. Malfoy mini, Lockhart, Wormtail, the Goblet of Fire, Umbridge, Snape, Bellatrix, and once again Dumbledore. Now however, was the Dursley's time again.

Harry did not look up as Dudley reappeared, remembering a lesson he had been painfully taught years ago. He waited until Dudley handed him the large mixing bowl, a look of sick satisfaction spreading across his features. He looked at the bowl filled with yellow snow and ranked it on his list. Nope, Vernon was still at the top. Sorry Dudley, you failed this round, better luck next time.

Dudley sneered. "Aren't I just the best! I saw you suffering, and out of the goodness of my heart-" Harry struggled to think of any time that suggested Dudley actually possessed a heart and failed- "and brought you some flavored water! See how nice I am! Drink up now, Mummy wants her bowl back in less than a minute." Dudley's face twisted at the end into a malicious grin, and Harry got the message. Drink the bowl of water and-Harry struggled not to think of what else was in there turning the snow yellow-in less than a minute.

Harry wordlessly complied, choking down the snow, persuading himself that this was training for drinking Snape's potions. Strangely, it worked and he convinced himself to wash it down quickly. Success! No more nasty Dudley potions for him today. Harry wondered as he passed the bowl back to Dudley if that or Snape's potions were worse. He found himself distracted as he returned to work and Dudley swaggered off to the kitchen, threatening Harry all the while. He paid it no mind, as it made no difference if he was listening or not.

Riddle looked repulsed as he watched the scene, revulsion forcing him to gag and suppress the urge to vomit, if snakes could do such a thing. Harry glanced up and saw this as Riddle returned to him and smiled, faintly amused.

Once Dudley had been inside for more than a minute, Harry turned to the closest batch of untouched snow and rinsed his mouth out. He felt a biting cold as the snow hit an untreated cavity but paid it no heed, just glad to be rid of any reminder of what just happened.

Riddle stayed quiet as Harry finished his work, sensing the opportunity to talk to Harry about a suitable punishment for his 'guardians' had passed. He sighed at the lost opportunity and managed not to question Harry on what happened until later.

Harry finished his gardening around noon and went upstairs to nurse his blue fingers back to life. He thanked every deity he knew once again for magic. His discovery in the morning had prompted a thought, and he realized he had done wandless magic without a sound or (obviously) a wand. He had tried the same thing while gardening to place a warming charm on himself. It had taken a few hours to get it right before he discovered it was the intent and not the words that focused the magic. He had managed it far more easily when he avoided the incantation and focused on warming his outer layer of clothes and trapping the heat. It had taken many tries, but he managed to make the warmth stick for periods of time without catching on fire. It had happened once, and he had quickly thrown snow on his coat, oblivious to Riddle's confused gaze.

He made it up into his room without grinning while avoiding his relatives. He had a way to make everything easier and get away with magic without his family or the ministry knowing! Well, no owls had arrived, so he assumed the ministry did not know.

When he closed the door to his room and let out his grin, Riddle was tired of not asking any questions. _::Well? Are you just going to stand there grinning like a buffoon or will you tell me what's made you so happy?"_

Harry took notice to the snake's mild insult. He was too thrilled with his discovery. _::I figured it out! I can do magic!::_

Riddle looked at him as if he was crazy. _::Of course you can do magic, you're the bloody-boy-who-lived! Did whatever you drink earlier-::_ he shuddered _::-make you an idiot?_

Harry just kept grinning._ ::I figured out how to do wandless magic! Feel my shirt, it's warm! I did a wordless, wandless heating charm on it!::_ He placed both his shirt and snake on the bed, letting Riddle feel for himself. Riddle was staring at the shirt waiting for the heat to fade, and never looked towards Harry as he changed into a dry pair of clothes as badly fitting as the ones he just took off.

After a few minutes of waiting and staring and the shirt not cooling, Riddle realized he was correct. _::I am impressed! I knew you had talent when you healed yourself, but this is something else! Wandless and wordless, you said?::_

Harry grinned and lay on the bed as the snake managed to slither under the shirt to keep warm. _::Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it! Wordless magic is really hard, and having a good grip on wandless magic makes you a legend! I accidentally used it this morning on my uncle's food, and I realized it was like what I do when I heal, so I tried it outside, and it worked!:: _Harry lay basking in his achievements for a while and the snake pondered.

After a few minutes, Harry's expression turned into horror. _::Crap! I need to go work on my other chores __right NOW.__ You can come if you want, which I do not suggest, or stay here, but decide QUICKLY! I must close my door so once you make your decision you're stuck for the afternoon until night. Hurry, I need to start before my aunt notices!::_

As an answer, Riddle turned invisible for a second before letting Harry see him, then climbed under Harry's sleeve, and once again hid himself by wrapping himself around Harry's chest, letting his head out to see what was going on. Harry gave it a quick grin, then soundlessly left the room, closed the door, dashed downstairs, and began cooking lunch.

He finished the meal to perfection and began on the other housework as the Dursley's pigged out on their meal. As he methodically cleaned the house, he ignored their snuffling as they ate, and then their taunting as they finished. Every once in a while, Riddle whispered in his ear, amusing him as he cleaned the Dursley's pigsty and soothing his temper, keeping from yelling at the Dursley's.

Once they began mentioning his parents, Harry tensed up. Riddle noticed and stayed silent for a moment, curious as to what the Dursley's would stay. He decided that was not a good idea when Harry began shaking and radiating anger. He hissed soothingly into Harry's ear, calming him. Harry was still breathing deeply when he began cooking supper. His hands shook, and he nearly sliced his hand numerous times as he prepared the food.

He thought fiercely to himself as he worked. The animals, daring to put down those who had lain down their life for him! Guilt washed over him, unhelped by cutting comments from Petunia about how her pathetic sister could not do anything right, making a friend with a half-blooded prince and then losing his friendship, getting his father killed, getting herself killed, landing them with a baby which they had so selflessly, so kindheartedly taken in despite their wish to be rid of his entire freakish world! Harry wondered through his growing rage why his magic had not popped out and manifested his anger, as it was liable to do at the Dursley's.

He distracted himself by mentally mocking his aunt's words. They had a heart? A kind heart? Harry decided that if they had a heart, his aunt had a shriveled prune in its place with barely enough warmth to pump her bitter blood through her body and fuel her tongue. His uncle would have a red, angry chili pepper that would occasionally loan its color to his face. But then, Harry wondered, where did the magenta color come from? It was a color that graced his uncle's face, loaning hilarity at the look itself and terror for what the look meant. His cousin had a heart of…Harry took a few minutes to come up with something fitting for Dudley while he dusted the mantelpiece.

Harry was still pondering as he began making their, and hopefully his as well, supper but he could not come up with anything. Rust? No, that came from something useful. Then again, Dudley had punches of steel and he had been weathered from life. His mothers doting had caused him weakness, and led him to be the pathetic lump he was today. Yes, Harry decided, Dudley had a heart of rust, barely held together.

Harry set the table for three and looked at his aunts feet when she entered the dining room. After a minute of thinking, (Harry winced for the poor, unused organ) she finally gave permission for Harry to eat. He thanked her graciously, and under her suspicious gaze (would it ever change?) took his food upstairs into his room. He made a quick trip to the loo before his uncle made it upstairs to lock him in.

Harry ate his food slowly, savoring every bite. Unlike fourth year, no one was supplying him with food, so he had to make do with what he had and make it last. Harry finished his food all too soon, and turned to talking with Riddle. He quickly discovered that Riddle had a wicked sense of humor, a sharp tongue, and quick wit. Harry discussed simple things with him for a while before broaching the subject with his family.

_::I hate them,::_ he hissed, forcing Riddle to flinch back at the vehemence in his words. _::I loathe my family, my caretakers, the ones who are supposed to shelter me with every fiber of my being. There is not one being on the face of the Earth that could top their cruelty. True, none of them sold me to…pleasure others, but they have done worse without physical evidence. Truthfully, I think it was only a matter of time before Vernon got the idea, but he hasn't yet, and I pray he never will. They cause me pain, every day they ridicule me, beat me, and try to humiliate me. Their excuse? They are trying to beat the magic out of me! Can you believe it?:: _Harry cried and buried his head in his flat pillow. _::They pass off their cruelty as a favor! To get rid of the one good thing in my life! The ONLY thing in this messed up life of mine worth living for!::_

Harry cried, and cried, pouring out his emotions without letting another sound escape. Riddle warily stayed out of his way, hissing softly to reassure him. Harry sniffed a few times, before he realized what he had just done.

_::I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break down.:: _Harry let out a shake laugh, feeling like a fool. _::Listen to me, I'm pathetic! It's true what they say, I really am a waste of space! Look at me!:: _Harry rose from the bed and slowly changed into his pajamas. This time, Riddle saw what was hidden under his shirt and bit back an enraged hiss.

FREAK.

Scars were cut into Harry's skin, spanning his chest and engraving the damning word. FREAK. Never would Harry be able to forget what he was, for the one thing he loved in his life. For his magic, he was forever destined to be a freak, a waste of space, a unnatural thing in a normal home. Harry looked down at his chest and shuddered in revulsion. Freak. Freak. Freak. Freak. It pound in his head.

Freak. Unnatural. Freak. Weird. Freak. Abomination. Freak. Nature gone wrong. Freak. Creepy. Freak. Abnormal. Freak. Malformed. Freak. Monster. Freak. Freak. FREAK!

The words were buried deep in Harry's mind, body, and soul. He was unloved, a freak, and nobody had ever proven him wrong. _::Freak:: _Harry whispered, silent tears once more streaming down his face. _::That is all I am, and all I will ever be, a freak.::_ He gave a bitter laugh. _::I'm a freak, no matter what! Look, I'm even a freak in magic!::_ Harry felt angry, and his stuff was flying around the the room. _::Look, see:: _He asked, staring straight at Riddle, who was watching the display with hooded eyes. _::I can do things no one else can! I can regenerate my throat, mend a broken bone, attract the enmity of the wizarding world, gain the respect of the wizarding world, then proceed to lose and gain their trust again and again! I can be an ingredient in a ritual to bring back someone who will kill someone, I can be a tool of prophecy, I can be a pawn, I can banish the Dark Lord at birth!:: _Harry let out a laugh, maniacal and suicidal.

_::He-hey! Stop! Don't kill us! Be careful!:: _Riddle hissed , growing extremely worried. Various sharp object were now floating around the room, doing a cruel parody of a dance. A particularly sharp eagle quill with an abnormally large point was floating near his head, with a potions knife with a wicked edge neared Harry. _::Idiot! Calm down and listen to yourself!::_

Harry said no more, but the objects carried on with their movements, cavorting around the room. _::You may be many things, but you're not all that! You're just made of sheer, dumb luck!:: _Riddle frantically cast for words to stop Harry from killing them both. _::The wizarding world is full of idiots! Your no freak, they're just stupid! You are incredibly talented in the wandless arts, a monumental blessing! You should be honored to be needed to revive the most powerful wizard! You are no more a freak than-than-than…Albus Dumbledore a nice grandfather with only your best interests in mind, and that stupid muggleborn you're with stupid!::_

The objects had slowed at Riddle's words, and the rage in Harry's eyes had died down. When he mentioned Dumbledore and Hermione, Harry began smiling. It was a small smile, nothing big, but it showed that Riddle had broken through into his thick skull. _::Yeah…yeah, thanks. I don't really believe you, but Dumbledore a kind grandfather? He's an manipulative old coot! Hermione, the muggleborn, stupid? Hell would freeze over before anyone could claim her stupid! She has earned grudging respect from EVERYBODY!:: _Pride for his friend shone out in Harry's voice, his anger forgotten. _::She truly has respect from literally EVERYBODY but the stupidest of the crowd! Even her enemies acknowledge it! Ron, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Malfoy-mini, Malfoy-major-pain-in-the-butt, and heck, even Voldemort recognizes her! Apparently, so do crazy people and brilliant snakes!::_ Harry grinned.

_::Thank you. I really am sorry for blowing up on you. Really though, it's a good thing you're here! I feel like a broken pressure cooker, and the steam has been building up for long enough for me to explode! You helped me make it through the day, and kept me from blowing up the others, and maybe kept me from suicide tonight. I hate op say, but it really was a kinda close thing. You know, I don't know why, but I feel I can trust you and tell you everything. I don't know why; I never tell my friends that much. Something in me just says that you will be there, at least for a little while when I need it.:: _Seeing the snake's incredulous look, Harry looked into its blood-red eyes._::I promise I will let you go, but until you leave me, I will protect you. Just now, you saved me. For that, I WILL protect you.::_

Harry grinned, broke eye contact, and lay down. _::Listen to me, being all sentimental tonight! I blame you, Riddle! As punishment, you must not leave until I have a way to keep you safe!:: _Harry quieted, and prepared to go to sleep. _::All joking aside though, I really will protect you. I will protect you, as you just protected me. Sleep well, Riddle.:: _Harry turned over on his bed and went to sleep, all thoughts of suicide banished temporarily, feeling slightly foolish for his declaration, but knowing every word he spoke was true. He felt from the bottom of his heart that the snake would not let anything happen to him, at least for a while. Safe and content, he drifted off into a more peaceful slumber than he had had since Voldemort was resurrected.

Many hours passed while the snake contemplated before he too fell asleep, comforted by the protection Potter had pledged him.

**Updated November 28, 2010  
Words: 5,085 story only**


	3. Meditation and Sanity

**Authors note: This is my first story, so I would appreciate lots of Constructive criticism and help, if you would. I would also love any questions or comments you might make, even if it's just as simple "nice."  
Disclaimer: No, I do not own any thing, characters included. My ideas were taken from a mesh of many other people, combined, and personalized.  
Warning: Possible beating later on. Uncle Vernon is quite the horrid character.**

**Abandoned to the Cold**

**3**

~\/~

^-^ Meditation and Sanity -^-

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At 5:30 the next morning, Harry awoke from a dreamless sleep, for which he was extremely thankful. Too many times had his sleep been burdened by nightmares of Voldemort, Cedric, Sirius, and all the others he had seen die through Voldemort's mind. He realized that Riddle had ended up sleeping across him again. He may have felt protected when the snake was awake, but he knew better than to startle it from its slumber. He gently shifted out from under it, being careful to keep from waking it.

Once he finally made it off his bed, he went downstairs to cook for the Dursleys. He figured that since Riddle was a slow at waking, it would be safe to leave him upstairs while he cooked. He was careful to avoid the creaky stair and proceeded to the kitchen. He was debating trying to charm the meal again. Could he do it? There would be more pros than cons if it worked unless the Dursley's found out, but would it work? For all his expertise with wand magic –almost none- he had no idea if he could successfully spell the food.

Harry sighed deeply while pulling out eggs, bacon, and bread. He would try it, As he mixed the eggs with ham and cheese, he _willed_ for it to soothe the Dursleys temper, but not too much. He _felt_ a small tendril of magic tentatively leak out and leak into the food, and slowly, ever so slowly, the tentative link thickened, then broke off. Harry gave a grin. He had found a get-out-of-beatings-today-free card! IF it worked like it did yesterday, it could improve their moods enough they would only do the barest cruelties to him for at least most of the day.

Harry looked back on yesterday and blessed his discoveries. He didn't know how much pain he had saved himself, but he knew it was a lot more than a little. He did know that without Riddle he would have been sorely tempted to blow up the Dursleys. Or worse, considering what they were saying. He shuddered and felt himself grow angry at what they said yesterday. Harry slowly began his meditating techniques.

Ever since his godfather had died, his temper was not to be envied, even if he had any rein on it at all. He was ready to snap at a single phrase. He had finally lost it one day in Grimmuald Place and stormed out. (Really, what had they been thinking, bringing him back there? Obviously nothing.) He had walked to a different section of town, leaving flustered Order members behind. While there, he had come across a store and wandered in. It wasn't as if he had anything else to do. Inside had been-books. It was a bookstore. Out of idle curiosity, (his anger forgotten with the discovery) he had picked up a book on meditation. It said it was an ancient way to calm the mind and clear the senses. It uncomfortably reminded Harry of Occlumency, but he bought it anyway. He stayed in a nearby park, and practiced the first exercise, breathing. In and out. It sounded stupid, but it was not Snape saying it (if he had ever said anything), so he tried it. To his great surprise, it helped him get a grip on his mood. Ever since then, Harry had studied the book and could easily reach a relaxed state, (unless he completely forgot about it, as he was apt to do with the Dursleys and had yesterday).

Harry focused on meditating, cooking, and soothing the Dursley's mood. As he finished the meal, laying it out on the table, he realized he could see a slight shimmer around the food. It broke his meditation and he couldn't see it anymore. Frowning, he brought his mind back to the state of peace meditating brought. The shimmering reappeared. Focusing on the shimmer and meditation, he made a mental note to figure it out later. Shrugging it off, Harry turned and made his way upstairs, nimbly avoiding Dudley. Yes, he had healed his arm, yes Dudley had hit it again, but no, he did not want to injure it again. He grimaced and made it back into his room.

Upon seeing the snake awake, Harry began hissing. _::Good morning, Riddle. Sorry for not taking you with me, but I noticed yesterday that you didn't like mornings. Seeing as I knew I would be back up here within an hour, I decided to leave you on my warm bed rather than bore you with cooking. Speaking of cooking, I managed to spell the Dursley's food again. Maybe today they will stay in a good mood like yesterday!::_

Riddle remained quiet throughout Harry's explanation, but sighed as he heard the conclusion. _::Yesterday was a good mood? I keep feeling less and less inclined to kill you with every speck of new information you give me. You should be glad, because I am completely serious when I contemplate killing you.::_

Harry shrugged. _::And I was completely serious when I contemplated letting you. All joking aside, I have been thinking about suicide, and this wouldn't be a bad way to go. However, before I can off myself, if I do, I have things to take care of first. Dumbledore, Voldemort:: _Harry winced at the pain and almost clapped a hand to his forehead but continued without pausing, _::and Bellatrix, of course. That insane lunatic is to blame for killing my godfather.:: _Harry felt his temper grow and breathing quicken. He inhaled sharply. _::Hang on for a moment. I need to meditate before I lose my temper and trash my room.:: _

Riddle waited with a curious gaze as Harry closed his eyes and began breathing slowly. Eventually, the tenseness that was ever prevalent lessened and his frame relaxed. You could see the difference as his mind calmed. Riddle whistled slowly, impressed. _::I didn't know you knew Occlumency!:: _When Riddle said that, Harry instantly tensed up again. Every inch of Harry instantly screamed "anger."

_::Occlumency? THIS is meditation! None of that clear your mind" no instruction crap! I hate Occlumency! Every time somebody mentions Occlumency, I get flashbacks it was so terrible. I see the damn lessons with Snape, shouting clear your mind and then immediately ramming through and forcing me to relive memories as I desperately try to block out the worst of the Dursleys! Do you know how hard it was? Going from only knowing that I was going to have lessons with Snape and waiting outside the door for my first lesson, and then not even five minutes later I was invaded for the first time! Not a word of instruction passed his lips! The absolute most he explained was "clear your mind!" How the hell was I supposed to do that while he was forcing me to block my worst memories and dragging me through the others? I would say he deserved me falling into his Pensieve. At least I told no living soul about my lessons, and I'm almost completely sure he reported back to his master. I still think he was purposefully broke my mental barriers.::_

The snake froze. _::You have got to be kidding.:: _Harry shook his head. _::Exaggerating?:: _Harry shook his head. _::That was exactly what happened?:: _Harry nodded. _::Did you try to find any books?::_

Harry nodded, and shook in frustration and anger. _::Every last one, of the few that we had, were checked out! From the Forbidden Section! It's a fact one of the professors took it out, but exactly who took it is information that is not allowed to be divulged. Guess what that means? Someone took the books and didn't want me to know? That's not all either, the books are still out!::_

Riddle was shocked. _::Well, it's clear somebody wanted you to fail Occlumency horribly! By horribly, I mean absolutely and completely! There is no possible way to keep anybody out or learn any Occlumency like that! Wait- they saw this and you are still here?::_

Harry grinned. _::No. All Snape saw was my cupboard, an aunt with a ripper of a dog, and some minor verbal abuse. Oh, I think he saw flashes of some chores too. Other than that, I'm pretty sure I hid most of my home life. Ha, as if I was going to let that Death Eater see my greatest shame. He ridicules me enough already, why provide him with more ammo?:: _Harry sneered. _::'Insolent brat! You're as arrogant as your father, always thinking your exempt from the rules. You stride around like you own the place, a pampered little prince!'__ Does that sound like someone who could possibly understand?::_

Riddle shook his head. _::You should not have been able to Occlude, yet you did!::_

Harry shrugged. _::I tried to hide the memories. Whenever he got really close, I nudged another, tantalizing memory just into his view. I made sure he saw it, then put up a small struggle before giving it up. I didn't want him to think I was giving it to him. Of course, he took many memories I didn't want him to see, but none of the memories I couldn't allow him to see. I could not afford to let him see them, so I didn't let him see them. I just focused on other stuff.:: _Harry shrugged again. _::That's all.:: _He really didn't see what the big deal was.

Riddles eyes were bugging out at this point. _::Th-that's all? __That__ is Occluding! The way you say it it sounds like where it is truly necessary, you have Occlumency learned and mastered! Not many can successfully distract others while the other is already in your mind.::_

Harry just shrugged again. _::He wanted the memories, so I made him think he stole them, that's all. I made it look like forbidden knowledge and he jumped on it. Anyways, what do you mean my meditating was Occluding?::_

Riddle sighed. Whether it was in disbelief or awe, Harry didn't know. _::You really know nothing about Occlumency, do you? Meditating is the essence and the first main step of Occlumency. Once you clear your mind, it is harder for anyone to find anything for the Legilimins to latch onto. With meditation, it is easier to control your emotions thus easier to banish the Legilimins. Sheesh, the books my old paranoid owner bought went in much more detail than your so-called professor.::_

Harry laughed. _::I learned more about Occlumency in one session of casual conversation with a snake than a half-year worth of lessons with my snarky professor.:: _Harry froze up as he heard noises from downstairs._ ::Crap crap crap! Coming or staying? I have chores to do! All are inside today.::_

Riddle sighed, turned invisible to all but Harry, and crawled up his arm. _::You are still much warmer than an empty room.:: _The moment Riddle was curled around Harry, he leapt out the door and downstairs. There, he endured a scolding from Aunt Petunia and was told to paint Dudley's room while they went out Christmas shopping. Harry readily agreed, and after an insulting scolding to leave everything alone, the Dursleys left.

Harry groaned. _::I hate this chore. I need to take everything in Dudley's room, make sure it's out of the paints way, clear the shelves, and cover the shelves. Then I must spread an even layer of paint on the wall, wait for it to dry, then do it again. After it's all finished, I need to put Dudley's room back together and clean up for him. So it's a double task in one, and I need to have it done before Dudley gets home and ruins my work.::_

Riddle sighed. _::Do I want to know if he messes up the paint deliberately or not?::_ His tone was dry and Harry let out a wry grin.

_::Probably not, but I'll tell you anyways. As you most likely guessed, he purposefully does it. Do you know how to get blood off fresh paint? I do, and it's my blood I have to try to scrape off the walls. If the paint is wet and comes off with the blood, I have to repaint over it the next day. Once I'm done with that, they test it the next night to see if the paint dried smoothly and if I scrub hard enough. If I pass both "tests," the blood will eventually come off. Every time I fail either test, I have to do it all over again. I hate it. The only good thing is they leave me alone while I do it. Apparently, the fumes hurt Aunt Petunia's senses and destroy more brain cells than my uncle and cousin can afford.::_ Harry stopped at the door. _::Get ready to see-:: _Harry opened the door and bowed, flourishing grandly in the air, _::-Dudley's room.::_ Harry rose from the bow and began cleaning and moving stuff, leaving the snake to suffer shock in silence.

_::This is….argh! This is exactly why Lord Voldemort wants to kill all muggles! Look at this! A huge room lavishly furnished! Toys everywhere! Expensive crap as far as the eye can see! Yet you live one room over where broken things grace broken shelves, while you curl up on a broken bed with a threadbare blanket! Unbelievable! Stupid filthy muggles!::_

Harry paused and pretended to take offense. _::Hey, don't knock my bed! It's very nice, four posters, canopy, soft as heaven mattress, the works! Well, okay, not really, but it really isn't a bad bed. Bad blanket, yes, bad room, yes. Bad bed, no. I only come back in the summer anyways, and I don't need the blanket then.:: _Harry folded the bed as he picked old wrappers up off of it.

_::Why don't they give you a better blanket right now?::_

_::Honestly? I think they forgot. They aren't intelligent enough to take away my stuff as punishment, unless it's food.:: _Harry sighed. _::Speaking of food, I'm not supposed to get any food today, because there is supposedly no way to know if I do my work or not. The next day, if I did my work well, I get lunch and supper. If I steal some food the day before, then that's a really good deal. Half of the time I do steal, half the time I don't.:: _Harry began taking the stuff off the shelves. _::I don't want the Dursley's to realize I'm taking their food.:: _Harry shivered all over, feeling cold at the thought. _::I don't think it would ever happen, but if they caught me…:: _Harry shivered again. _::I get the feeling they could make your Lord Voldemort's torture look easy.:: _Harry flinched. _::I honestly believe they could rival him. They are the evil of the muggle world.::_

Riddle started hissing. _::You think these stupid muggles can equal the Dark Lord's torture? You don't know-::_

Harry cut him off. _::Yes I know. I know every damning thing he does when he is in a temper. I can see it. When he is truly angry, or feeling any emotion strongly, I'm brought to his mind. I can feel his thoughts, his emotions, and his pain. I watch as his most loyal are tortured, I watch when new recruits are tortured, I watch when his prisoners are tortured, and I watch as he rewards his favorites.:: _Harry shuddered. He did _not_ need to see what he did then. No need for a sex ed class for Harry Potter, he saw it all through everyone's favorite Dark Lord's mind. _::I watch as he plots, I watch as he fights, I watch and I cry and I try to stop him or escape but I'm forced to watch and watch and watch!:: _Harry pounded his fist against the wall. All of the shelves that still had stuff on it a moment ago did no longer. It was flying off the shelves, or more specifically, away from Harry. He fell to the floor, crying. _::I watched, as he tortured over and over again. And yes, I still think the Dursleys can do worse. Chains; check. Torturous living space the size of a cupboard; check. Whip; check. Lack of care; check. Desire to torture, kill, and maim; check. Lack of humanity; check. What am I missing? Oh yeah, intense hate and loathing for one Harry Potter; double-check.::_

Riddle said nothing as Harry covered the shelves. He stayed silent even as Harry began painting, gently stroking the brush across the wall. Harry was done with the first layer before he said anything. Harry lay down on the floor to wait as the paint dried. What was the snake thinking? Did he think Harry deserves it for stopping the Dark Lord and killing the King of Serpents? Did he think he deserves some retribution, but not that much? More? Does he pity me? Hate me? Or should I entertain the idea hiding at the back of my mind I can't quite think of? Harry didn't know what the idea is, but something was telling him to observe Riddle carefully. Looking at him, Harry could see why. Who trusts a random, 6-foot snake? With his white scales and blood red eyes, he gave out a terrifying visage. What told Harry he could trust him? Well, for one he had been freezing in the cold in the dead of winter. For two, he had done nothing but listen to Harry and help him since he had arrived. His family owed him for helping calm Harry down and not blowing them up. Harry pondered as he waited and the snake stayed quiet.

_::Oh. Well, I guess that explains a lot. Like why you try to kill the Dark Lord.:: _The snake finally spoke.

Harry gave a hollow laugh. _::I try, and I hate it. It's the only reason I put up with Dumbledore's manipulations. I have to save my friends, the other muggleborn, and the muggles.::_

_::Why. Why do you feel obligated to save the people who wrong you?::_

Harry sighed. _::There are so many reasons. I just told you one. I need to finish the job. I need to fill some prophecy or other, whatever the stupid thing is. I have to save the muggles.::_

Riddle broke _in, hissing. ::Why? Why save the muggles? You are seeing what they can do. You are _living _in what they can do! They are pathetic apes filled with cruelty and weakness. They are filth filling our world, a barbaric species incapable of using magic properly and understanding it! Why are you expanding any effort to save them?::_

Harry looked at Riddle oddly. _::Are you judging the world based on a few peoples actions? Yes, these muggles hate me. No other muggles I know, aside from Dudley's gang, truly hate me. They dislike the image Petunia gives them-seriously, who wouldn't be worried by a hardened killer child?- but they are actually very nice. Even as they are scared, they try to help. A teacher at my school helped me through my home life once he found out, though I wouldn't let him tell anybody or do anything. I watched as he gave up his life to save a child from drowning.:: _Harry shivered, remembering his fear. _::Before he could help me, he gave his life for me.:: _Harry saw in his mind the field trip he took with his school, the running from Dudley to his teacher, the accusations, the throwing him in the water, his teacher jumping in to save him, the other teachers standing around as he tried to fight them and his exhausted body to save his teacher, and he saw himself failing. _::He- he was af-fr-fraid of water.:: _Harry shook. _::He was afraid of water, yet he just jumped and gave his life for me. He gave up his entire life at a minutes' notice, just for me.::_ Harry started yelling. _::Can you just lay there and say the man who lay down his life for me was dirt? If you can, I suggest you HOLD YOUR TONGUE!::_

Riddle wisely kept quiet. Harry fumed. Red was covering his vision, and he saw blood. He imagined blood falling from blood red eyes, streaking over where his mouth should be and passing his almost nonexistent lips. Tom Marvolo Riddle would pay for trying to kill others without reason. Harry would give up his life for his old teacher's equally nice wife at a moments notice. If Voldemort ever tried to kill her, there would be no lack of killing intent on Harry's side. Conversely, if Dudley ever was caught by the Voldemort, Harry would allow him to kill him. A life for a life.

Dudley had tried to kill him for no reason. He had ended up killing another man. Dudley had no reason to kill. None. At least Voldemort thought he was saving his world. At least he had a reason. _::At least your Dark Lord has a reason. He had none. None!:: _

Harry cried silently, tears streaming off his face. The red covering his vision disappeared. _::Why do you make my emotions in a turmoil? I can't carry out a conversation with you without my emotions taking over.:: _Harry stifled any sniffles and began meditating. Once he sufficiently calmed, which took a long while, he checked the paint and began on the second layer. He started quietly humming a song to himself, Breathe No More by Evanescence. It fit him. Did the world love him or his reflection? He bled, oh how he bled, and he breathed no more innocent air.

Riddle watched silently. _::So you can excuse the Dark Lords killing?::_

Harry sighed. _::I can understand. In his twisted mind, he truly believes he is saving the wizarding world. My cousin only wanted to be rid of me and my freakishness. One day, the world will be rid of him, and I cannot wait until Dudley is gone. I cannot excuse his killing. Tom, however, is trying to protect wizards. What he needs to realize is that they are safe from muggles now, and that he is only making it worse on the wizards by creating a war.::_

_::Why do you call him Tom or the Dark Lord, but not his name? At least, not without flinching. I thought you were supposed to be one of the few people who could say his name at all, and one of the two who could say it without flinching.::_

Harry sighed. Really, who would expect a snake to pick up on that? He had called him Voldemort once or twice in Riddle's presence, but he flinched almost imperceptibly every time he did. _::I can't say his name without some pain. It gets worse the closer I get to him. My theory is the scar bonds me to him, sort of, and whatever feelings we have for each other is reflected through that bond. Saying his name opens the bond and helps me read him. Right now, we are opposing each other, and he was feeling negative emotions, so it hurt worse. I figured out a neat little trick though.:: _Harry grinned._:: The forecast for today's muggle killings and the mood of Voldemort-::_ Harry paused to interpret. It hurt, but not as bad as earlier. He was definitely getting flashes of curiosity and anger. _::Low muggle killings, probably instances of minion torturing. He is currently studying, or receiving new information. His anger is being tempered by his curiosity.::_

There was awe and anger in Riddles voice._ ::You can tell all that? What about his privacy? Can you use it to spy on him? How much does it hurt?::_

Harry looked thoughtful and made sure his answers were correct before he started answering. Really, the snake was extremely eager looking, waiting for the answer. _::I had to guess that. All I could get was curiosity, anger, and a sense of new information. I know him well enough to bet my prediction is 80% accurate. I am not seeing anything, so I don't feel I'm invading his privacy, though it wouldn't bother me if I was. He infiltrated my dreams, the most private part of our brains where we try to understand our life through our subconscious! I can't use it to spy on him per say, just guess when the next attack is. It normally hurts a decent amount. I would compare it to…banging your head on a cement wall. Trust me, not fun. I did it far too often last year. I would be touched by your apparent concern for me, but it's obvious your just worried about your Voldemort.::_ Harry flinched at his deliberate use of his arch foe's name. He felt anger, continued curiosity, a slight bit of…fear(?) and…guilt? A minute portion of the last two, to be sure, but they were there. Harry felt bad for the minion or book in sight. He did not respond well to fear, lashing out at others, if Harry's visions were anything to go by.

Harry got up, and Riddle said nothing, knowing Harry was correct. Harry put up another layer of paint and started talking again. _::Really, it's annoying putting on another layer of paint because your cousin still writes on the walls like a little kid…:: _Harry brushed more, his attempt to lighten the mood having failed miserably. _::Well, if it makes you feel any better, I have some good news on the Dark Lord. I don't know if it's good or bad for me, but for you it's definitely good.:: _Harry paused. _::He's regaining his sanity.::_

Riddle looked shocked. Again. Harry grinned. Really, he had not expected saving the snake and talking to it to be this much fun. The look on its face whenever it was shocked was priceless. _::What do you mean by that? The Dark Lord is insane?:: _Harry could hear anger rising up in the snakes voice. Ooh, apparently he didn't like that insinuation.

_::Unfortunately, yes. He was insane. I could feel it whenever I was trapped in his mind. I think that contributes to some of the random muggle killings. Not all of them had a point, and neither did the excessive needless torture. Don't worry though. He is regaining his sanity. He should be able to appreciate his life more, and think more clearly. His planning and war efforts will definitely improve now that the haze clouding his mind is mostly gone. Not that he wasn't good at planning before, mind you. It's just going to be even harder to win the war now, if we even can. _

_His sanity has been returning slowly since his resurrection. Well, it wasn't really working that well in the beginning and he was completely mad. That's one of the reasons he lay low during my fifth year of school, last year. At the end of the year, I was tricked into coming to the ministry and inadvertently killing several order members and-:: _Harry swallowed and tried not to sob. _::My godfather, Sirius.:: _Harry began breathing slowly as he laid the paintbrush aside, done with his task. _::Tom came to the ministry. We encountered each other. I could barely think through all the pain shooting through my scar. Dumbledore appeared and started fighting him. Tom decided to defend himself. By throwing himself in me, in a way.:: _Harry shuddered, almost breaking through the feeling of calm meditation brought him. _::Th-the pain when he entered my body was-tremendous. I have felt the cruciatus, and I do not exaggerate when I say it felt like several of them focused on my scar, my heart, my soul, and my head.:: _Harry shuddered again.

_::He overshadowed my body and attempted to get Dumbledore to kill me to get rid of him. Even through the pain, I saw Dumbledore considering it. A smile was spreading on his face as if it was his dream come true, before a troubled expression crossed it. I saw it, and recognized what it meant. He was going to sacrifice me soon, and a complication that had crossed his mind saved my life. I felt sheer terror, and with strength born due to desperation, I tried flinging Tom out of my head. I felt his shock and surprise-his every thought was clear. I saw his madness, and in my panicked state, I thought it might help save me if I tried to remove that madness. Before I threw him out of my mind, I cut through the fog the madness caused, providing Tom with a way to break free of his madness. I think it worked, and he saw Dumbledore's look. He actually helped in my efforts of getting him out of my mind. Before he left, I noticed the pain had dimmed, partly proportionate with his insanity. That's another thing I think causes me pain through the bond, his insanity. Partly, at least._

_Luckily for us, Dumbledore was halted in his plans by the arrival of the ministry. You should have seen the minister's face as he stared at his broken atrium, the Dark Lord, Albus Dumbledore, and me. I think he was shocked be the atrium most of all though.:: _Harry grinned and laughed in slight disbelief. _::I swear the Dark Lord saw that and destroyed the atrium even more. Several statues and columns exploded before he left. Honestly, if I wasn't exhausted and fighting against him, I would have cheered right then. I hate the ministry, especially after all of their lies. Anyways, the point of that was that the contact with my mind and my help started tearing apart his madness, I believe. So, like I said, good news for you and any other supporter of his, and bad news for Dumbledore.::_

Harry stood and decided to let the snake think on that. He was trying to be nice and not say anything against his Dark Lord. He wasn't going to lie for it, no way, but he decided it was best to keep on good terms with the snake. There was no reason to annoy his new- friend, could he say that? Yes, the snake was his friend now. No one he ranted to and explained things like that to couldn't be anything less than a friend.

Harry decided to test his newfound magical prowess and concentrated on drying the wall. After he felt his magic take hold after a few minutes, he grinned in success and started hauling Dudley's stuff into the room. After he finished, he left Dudley's room to go shower. He explained where he was going to the snake before going to wash the paint smell off and take advantage of the Dursleys not being there.

Harry sighed as he turned on the hot water and burnt the paint smell out of his skin and pondered the snake he had named Riddle. The snake clearly was a fully-fledged supporter of Voldemort. He was so interested in whenever Harry started talking about him that "tell me now" vibes practically flowed off him. Occasionally Harry felt like the snake was thinking of killing him. He saw the ruby red eyes lock on him, and it seemed as if death itself was residing in his eyes. Harry shivered, a cold chill crossing over him. Yet the snake was smart, and had realized that he had to rely on Harry if he wanted to survive. The moment Harry's usefulness ended, it would be up to the relationship with the snake, which meant he shouldn't say anything bad about Voldemort. Yet there seemed to be a reluctance to want to kill, as the snake had no need to keep him calm or explain things, or even talk to him. It was a riddle as to whether the snake actually wanted to kill him or not. Either way, Harry was more likely to live, but he still had to be careful. No threatening the snake or in any way harming it.

Harry turned off the shower and toweled dry, making sure to avoid looking at his reflection. He was vain enough not to want to see the scars in his chest. He dressed slowly, and then headed towards his room where he had left Riddle.

_::I don't know about you,:: _Harry hissed, _::but I'm in the mood for turning in early. I need to conserve energy since I didn't get supper. Oh, speaking of eating, are you still full from the rodents you ate the other day? I don't know how much snakes need to eat exactly...::_

Riddle shifted as Harry lay down so that he would not be crushed, then crawled and lay his body over Harry's. _::I just need several mice a week and things like that. I had a large meal yesterday, so I should be sated for a while.:: _

Harry hummed an agreement. He lay drifting off to sleep thinking of lost and regained sanity as the Dursleys entered downstairs. He paid them no mind and slowly felt himself succumb to slumber, his body searching for rest to recover.

Riddle stayed awake longer, listening to the Dursleys crash through the house. The noises made him hiss quietly in annoyance as they distracted him from his thoughts. He contemplated things lost and gained, and finally fell to a fragile sleep as the discord downstairs continued long into the night.

**Hello to everyone who was kind enough to read this! I am SOOOOO sorry I didn't update earlier! I have been on a vacation to Alaska to visit my grandparents, and I have been unable to get an internet connection. Let me tell you: Alaska is the state of the cleanest toilets without plumbing. They have the most too. Nasty. Anyways, I had meant to update before I left, but I was unable to. So, I shall be sure to update the next chapter as soon as possible. I mean it this time, it will be up by two weeks at the most. I'm hoping to be able to concentrate on it and get it done within half of a week though. OK, I'm home, have taken a shower, eaten, and updating this. In that order.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews! I love them, and make sure to read every one. Currently, there are (checks web now) 33. Thank you! It may interest you to know I am going to your profiles and reading your stories and favorites. Many of them are extremely good, but it is slow going. Know that I will get to you eventually.**

**There is a poll on my page asking about the rating for this story. We should have passed the worst of the abuse, I'm not sure if there will be a big Christmas spectacle or not yet.**

**Well, thanks again for reading, and I hope you will see a new update her e by next week!**

**Original chapter published: July 23, 2010  
Words: 5,477 w/o authors notes, 5,755 with.  
Pages: 11 w/ Bookman Old Style size 11 font  
Updated November 29, 2010  
Words: 5,555 story only**


	4. Dumbledore and Presents

**The beginning of this chapter is rather odd. Just wait, it will be explained.  
****Disclaimer: Oh yes, I have been writing for years, Harry Potter is all mi-wait, what? You already know it's owned by JK Rowling? Curses, my evil plan is foiled. Stop laughing! Shut up already! Meanies...**

**Abandoned to the Cold**

**4**

~\/~

-^- Dumbledore and Presents ^-^

~/\~

That night was a difficult night. At around 3:00 in the morning, Harry began jerking and thrashing in his sleep. Riddle was quickly shaken from his slumber and hissed at him, to no effect. Harry never heard him, and began to cry softly. He began mouthing words, whispering them so quietly that only Riddle's extra sensitive ears picked up the sound. His face made it appear as if he was shouting the words that were barely uttered, and even asleep terror filled his face. Terror, and an unbearable look of sadness and hate. The hate was so profound that anyone could pity the one on the receiving end, the one at fault for all of his nightmares. Harry believed this to be none other than-himself.

"No-no no no no…Sirius! No, don't follow-don't come-don't fall-no…no! Shouldn't have come-shouldn't-wouldn't-did-no…Sirius! Damn it-STOP! Don't follow! I'm here to save you, you can't-no! My fault, all my fault! Mine, mine, mine, my fault, all mine, not Sirius, no no no no…" Harry fell silent, but he kept jerking. For a minute he calmed, and then he began shaking, violent tremors that nearly threw Riddle of his bed.

"Stop it-stop it! Cedric! No, don't! I told him-I did-he died-NO! Not a spare!" Silence. Then Harry's voice went flat, like he was telling a story. "Yes sir, that's right. He killed Cedric. Yes sir, it was my fault-why? You told me, I told him to come, and he died for that. Yes sir, it was Wormtail, the rat. He owes me a life debt? Really sir? He had a baby, broken and bleeding, so sad, so disgusting, so helpless-oh no. Nono nono. Not him. He's dead. Just a spirit. It was just dreams. Nonono-" Harry was hyperventilating before his voice turned dead once more. "Yes sir, it was real. I was knocked out and put on a headstone. It's cold. Cauldrons came. Bone broke free from the ground like dust. The traitors arm was torn off with a knife. Flesh, bone, and-blood?" Harry's voice rose. "No. Nonono-not me, not me, not me, me! My arm- it was cut. My blood bled into the cauldron-the waters swirling-the babies put in- drown, don't drown, drown, drown, drown. No! He's rising, he's ascending, he's coming out of the cauldron-" Harry's voice died again. No note of emotion could be heard. "Yes sir, it was him. It's Lord Voldemort. He's white, so pale, so wraith-like, is he really alive? Oh yes, he is, oh no, no. He's calling them-it burns! I screamed, yes sir. Why? It hurt. Oh, it hurts, oh nonono…Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, McNair…here, here! Others too, yes! Yes sir! I couldn't tell, couldn't see, all covered in black with white-"

Harry started panicking again. His thrashing, which had died down with the tone of his voice, started again, panicky and incredulous. "Oh no, he's looking at me, he's looking at me! Nonononono-duel? He just told me to duel him? Is he off his rocker? I can barely see through the pain, my wand! Where is it, where is it, where where where? Mine! Wormtail released me, and the Death Eaters surrounded-nonono, don't surround us! Let me out! I tried, they threw me back. Bow? Why would I-oh. It's a dueling rule, really? Don't make me against my will! I will stand against you!" Harry's voice lost its determined tone and sounded curious instead. "Yes sir, he tried and failed, is it that important? Nuisance? Me? But-" Harry's breath hitched and turned scared, yet determined again. "RUN! Dodge, dodge, Imperiod! I should listen, but I don't want to. It's bad. No, I won't-I won't! Ha, beat you again-no, I'm trapped! What to do-only one dueling spell I know." Harry's voice changed again, to be empty of all emotion. "I jumped from behind the tombstone, shouted just as he did. Our spells met- Expelliarmus red and Avada Kedavra green- turned phoenix gold.

Our wands were connected, and there was this cage, all golden and protective-yes sir, it did surround us. We floated off the ground, away from the Death Eaters. There was a dot of light in the middle. It was approaching me. I sensed danger and forced it back to Voldemort." There was no flinch when Harry spoke his name. "Yes sir, of course I managed! He was scared of losing, I wasn't, so I won. Ced-" Harry's voice broke. "Cedric came out." Harry starts shaking. "He said it's not my fault. But it is! It's my fault-of course, professor." Harry's voice took on the same hypnotized tone it had been in earlier." You are always right. It was all my fault. No one else's. Then came some lady, then my- my-" Harry shuddered and started crying silently. "My parents came out, told me how brave I was." Harry's voice fell again. "No, professor. I know I'm not brave, just a heroic idiot. Yes professor, I know others die for me so I can live. Of course. But they told me to run, so I did. I grabbed Cedric's body, it was the least I could do, and made it to the Portkey. Then I landed back in front of you, and you know the rest, professor."

Harry was silent for a moment. Riddle entertained the hope he had fallen asleep so he could think about what he had just said. He had no such luck. "Don't worry professor, I know. Others die for me. I'm not brave, I'm a foolish Gryffindor. Yes, I beat Riddle and then I die. Or I die defeating Riddle. I understand. Yes, sir. Whatever you-" Harry choked on his voice. "No, professor, no, no, no no no. You're wrong, you're wrong, you're lying, no no no! I know I need to die, but my friends will be with me! They won't betray me! I'm not entirely worthless!" Harry's voice turned pleading. "They know me! They won't turn their back on me! Hermione won't! He won't! Ron did, though-" Harry's voice broke. "Of course. You're right. I need to give them everything before they betray me. You need my gold, sir? For an order of some sort? Of course. Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir-" Harry's voice was quieting. "I don't want to, yes sir, yes sir, yes sir…"

Riddle watched as Harry fell back into a disturbed slumber as he committed the words to memory. He pondered over this new revelation.

Harry woke the next morning with a groan. He had had another horrible dream last night, but like the many before it, he could only remember the begging and some vague ideas afterwords. Sirius falling through the veil, Cedric being killed by Wormtail, and a horrible feeling of emptiness of knowing no one would ever like you and that everyone who got close to you would die. That it was all his fault they were dead. Of this, the dreams left no doubt. The feeling Harry got was so horrible he didn't know if he would ever be able to kill anything again, not even a slug for potions class.

After a few minutes of panicked and heavy breathing, Harry managed to calm his mind through meditation. He let his feelings drop away, the feelings of self-loathing and worthlessness. He let pride, humiliation, happiness, sadness, anger, and laughter fall away until he could think and make accurate decisions. When he was like this, Harry knew he could put aside any personal grudges or favors and judge situations and people accurately. Like this, Harry knew he was as close to impartial to all unimportant things as he could be.

Riddle watched until Harry lay peacefully near him once more. _::You know, you had a horrible dream last night. You could have warned me you were a horrible sleep talker.::_

Harry shrugged. _::Sorry, I didn't think about it. All of my dorm mates know I silence my bed so I don't disturb them. At least, I think they know. I started screaming in my sleep years ago. I did it occasionally times during my third year and my second, after the whole Chamber of Secrets mess, but it didn't happen that often. My schoolwork suffered the next day, but nobody ever asked about it, so I just ignored it. In my fifth year, I had them at least once every other week. At the beginning of the semester, I asked my charms professor about a silencing charm and learned to cast it. Neville had asked about my health before, but after he didn't hear any more nightmares, he dropped it._

_By the end of the school year, they were at least once a week, more often twice a week. I'm just glad I'm better at potions than Snape thinks I am and that the Room of Requirement can turn into a potions lab. I spent time in there and brewed the necessary potions to keep me awake and healthy. I tried Dreamless Sleep several times, but it doesn't work that well.::_ Harry shrugged again. _::I can use it one night and it will work, but barely, and I can't use it again for another week for it to have any effect. The nightmares have just grown to be a part of my life. Until I mastered meditation, that is. I don't have the dreams as often when I meditate, or I guess you could say,:: _Harry laughed bitterly, _::Occlude.::_

Harry gently moved the snake off his stomach and made to get up. He frowned, noticing his room was darker than usual. He glanced at the window, and seeing the sun was nowhere near rising yet, he groaned. He concentrated for a moment, then attempted to cast a wandless Tempus charm. After several unsuccessful tries and a hissing snake, he got it to work.4:45 am. 'Great. Not only do I have a horrible dream, I wake up early and in a foul mood. I wish I knew why-the dreams can't be that bad, can they? Of course, I don't know, as I don't remember them…but I do talk about them.' _::Hey, Riddle, what did I say in my sleep?::_

Riddle eyed Harry before answering. _::Why? Don't you remember?:: _Harry shook his head in a no. Riddle muttered, _::I thought not.:: _He paused for a moment. Harry wondered why, and why he had thought that. He hoped he would get an answer soon-he hated not knowing. He hated it worse than he hated Snape. Which, actually, he did less than last year. After seeing the pensieve, Harry had been inclined to leave him alone, and the Professor had returned the favor. Mostly. He still picked on Harry in class, but he couldn't do it as much as he had in potions because Harry absolutely excelled in Defense.

_::In the beginning, you started crying out for something 'serious' and Cedric. After some screaming and thrashing about, you quieted. You started going on about the Dark Lord's rebirthing ritual.::_ Harry's breath caught in his throat. What? He didn't remember that from his dream! _::In between righteous panicking, you sounded as if you were talking to a Professor.:: _Harry stopped breathing. _::You…you kept deferring to him, saying yes sir.:: _'No chance of it being Professor Snape then,' thought Harry distractedly. _::You explained all that happened, and told him of all that happened until you portkeyed back. You said he knew what happened from there.::_

Harry was forced to start breathing again. He did not gasp, as his lungs told him to, but drew short, shallow, silent breaths. He got a bad feeling. A very bad, _**bad**_ feeling about what happened next. _::Did- did I say anything…else? Or mention…a name?::_

The snake stayed quiet for a minute. Then he sighed, a decision apparently made, and continued. _::Yes. You- well, you acknowledged that everybody died for you. That you 'weren't brave, just a foolish Gryffindor', I think you said. Then, you said that…that you would die after defeating Voldemort, or die defeating him. Then you started panicking, claiming your friends wouldn't leave you, before apparently listening to whatever the Professor said and agreeing that they would turn your backs on you, and that you were entirely worthless. You seemed convinced to give them everything before they betrayed you. The professor needed gold, for some kind of order you said, and you agreed to give it to him-::_

Riddle broke off as Harry rose and punched the wall. The one leading outside, that now had a nice new hole in it._ ::Shit, Potter, what was that!::_

Harry ignored him and tried to keep himself calm. It wasn't working very well. He leaned against the wall as he collected his thoughts. He was remembering his dream, as if an outside force telling him about them was the key. Flashes of sitting in Dumbledore's office whipped through his mind. He gritted his teeth. There was no doubt now as to what happened. 'Damn Dumbledore. He needs to die. Painfully, and then go to hell for what he's done.' The broken fragments of memories came back to Harry. He was ready to blow something up. Violently. Not some wishy-washy hot air balloon blown up. Nuclear bomb explosion blow up. Preferably over the headmasters office.

Harry tried to reign in his anger. 'Meditate. Meditate. No thoughts of killing Dumbledore. Breathe deeply. Meditate. Clear-no, calm the mind. Push out thoughts of killing Dumbledore. No killing Dumbledore or his Order of Living Barbecue. Barbecue. Chicken Wings. Anything but killing Dumbledore. Not yet, maybe later, but not now. Think of- of fire. Watching it flicker and burn. Burning away other thoughts, leaving his mind clear and calm.' Harry's breath came easily. 'Clear and calm. Burned clean, impurities burnt to ashes and scattered out of his mind. Ok, I can think rationally know. I know I can. I just have to admit it to myself.' _::I think I know what you are talking about. I-:: _Harry broke off and cleared his throat. _::Memory blocks are falling, several of them, and I mostly remember that now._

_Dumbledore-the Professor- he was the one in the dream. After I escaped from Voldemort and after we cornered Crouch, he sat down and put me under a potion he had. It-it makes the victim fall into a trance. It's like the Veritiserum, except you deal with the subconscious as well. You can implant suggestions and demand the truth from the one under it. With it, you can make the most confident person doubting yourself, and a selfless person cruel, or at least plant those ideas. I think it's best used for magnifying traits though. Making a sad person horribly depressed, encouraging a hero complex, increasing self reliance and lack of trust in abused, stuff like that. But Dumbledore used that on me to get me to describe stuff and plant ideas of shame, worthlessness, a need to prove myself, and to die with Riddle. I'm regaining my memory of it, as he obliviated me after. That's the beauty of it. Obliviate locks it in your subconscious and obliviates it from your conscious mind. But since it's in your subconscious, you remember the feelings he wants you to. Ingenious._

_I don't think that's the only time Dumbledore's obliviated me either. I'm remembering other circumstances, other suggestions. Basically, they all followed the same idea. Tell me what happened, don't trust others but me, give me money, die with Tom. Simple as hell. The same hell he will burn in when I can force him in. If I have to die doing it, I will destroy Dumbledore's world. There is no way I would forgive him for this. Not in the least because he was trying to kill me! What else can you call convincing me to die but killing me?::_

Harry would have raged more, but the sun caught his eye. He groaned, cut off his rant, and told Riddle he was going downstairs. He left Riddle on the bed to think as he went down to cater to the Dursleys. He cast a wandless tempus again before going down, and groaned realizing it was already 5:45. He had spent an hour getting angry at Dumbledore and calming down. He bet that the calming down part had taken a lot longer. Sure, he had expected something a little like this before, but realizing your headmaster was trying to get you killed was not a happy 'Eureka!' moment.

Harry reached the kitchen and pulled out eggs for omelets. The whole carton of them. 6 for Dudley, 5 for Vernon, and 1 for Petunia. He scrambled in the milk, cheese, and magic before putting it in the pan. Harry grinned. One thing was going right- he had greater control over his magic than yesterday. His day would be beating free for the mist part.

Harry barely finished the food and set it on the table before his relatives made it down. He dodged a random punch from Dudley while waiting to hear his chore of the day.

Petunia looked up from her eggs. She spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone, cloying with pathetic affection. "Diddykins, don't hurt your hand on that nasty boys head. We wouldn't want my precious pumpkin to get injurered!" Her tone instantly changed to a snap. "Freak, today you will wrap Dudders presents. Every single one will be wrapped perfectly." Her voice changed back. "I want everything to be perfect on Duddidums special Christmas!" Her voice turned threatening. Harry sighed. Really, she was pathetic. "Don't you sigh and roll your eyes at me, you ungrateful little freak! All the stuff is in the garage. You know what to do." She turned back to her food, taking tiny and delicate bites, studiously ignoring Harry.

Harry refrained from rolling his eyes only because it would have gotten him a painful 'lesson' in manners. He had not enjoyed the last one. Instead, he bowed his head, said quietly but clearly, (no mumbling allowed in this house, boy!) "Yes, ma'am. Of course, Aunt Petunia." Feeling like a house elf, he backed out of the room and out of the Dursleys sight.

Harry debated for a moment at getting the snake or not. He sighed, and decided to take the risk of getting caught. Hurrying, he willed for his magic to make him silent as he ran to his room, leaping lightly over the squeaky step. He arrived, breathless, in front of his bed and Riddle.

_::Do you want to come with me again? I will be wrapping presents in the garage today. I won't be back until late.::_

Harry waited with his arm out to where the snake could reach. He sighed, and slithered onto Harry without further ado. Harry enjoyed the sensation of silky scales sliding against his skin. He shivered as Riddle arranged himself around Harry's neck, remembering his death threats again. 'Bow to death, Harry.' He shivered again, remembering Voldemort's cold, high tones.

He walked out of his room and quietly shut the door behind him, watching for random Dursleys. Seeing none, he silently made his way to the garage. Mentally preparing himself, he opened the door and walked in.

Just as he remembered, by the end of the season the garage was quite full. It became the storage area for all the presents the Dursleys had bought for each other. Thanks to Petunia's nagging and Harry's constant sorting, there were three different piles. Or rather, two piles and one miniscule mountain.

Harry snorted at the sight of Dudley's presents. He pulled out the wrapping paper and tape and began wrapping presents without further ado. Riddle glared at the heaps.

_::Let me guess. None for you?::_ He said in a biting, sarcastic tone.

_::Actually, you're wrong.:: _Harry responded with a light teasing tone. _::I'm sure it doesn't happen very often to you. Don't worry, your just barely not wrong.:: _He walked over to a corner of the garage and pulled out a holey pair of socks and a large, smelly t-shirt. _::My Christmas presents. They are definitely being nice this year.:: _Harry examined the shirt before wrapping and labeling it. _::Yes, definitely one of the better years. Last year I got some of Dudley's old underwear. Definitely not something I will ever willingly wear, not now that I can buy a new pair in a side store in Hogsmeade.::_

Harry finished his presents quickly and tossed them to the side. He began with Pentunia's pile, as it was the second smallest and the best one to be working on in case he didn't finish until late. He had finished the second present, a new belt,when his aunt came in. She saw Harry working industrially and screeched at him for a few minutes before going back inside. Harry was impressed by her restraint. Normally she scolded him twice as long and was twice as harsh. Maybe the magic breakfast mood-changer had done even more than he thought!

After waiting a few minutes and wrapping another present, Harry decided that Petunia wasn't coming back. _::She'll be gone for at least an hour. We can talk freely in here. Or, maybe I can practice my magic…::_ Harry paused and grinned. _::Yes, I think I will perform the despicable m-word in the Dursley's very own garage! To start with a silencing charm, just in case. No sound out, only sound in.::_

Harry's wrapping slowed a little as he began his task. He started by silencing the scissors. He waited and listened for the small _snip _sounds they let out. He focused, and accidently heated up the scissors. After a few minutes, he managed it.

_::Alright, I think I have the idea and the way to make the magic work. I'm going to silence the entire area I'm working at, minus me. You slither inside and listen for me. If you can hear me, try to tell me that and nod. If you can't, tell me and shake your head. If I can't hear you, I will know it's at least halfway working and will signal you with a thumbs up, or a thumbs down if it's not working. Then, you come back out and we try again.::_ Riddle agreed, and Harry began throwing up silent area.

Riddle slipped in as Harry stopped wrapping. _::Did it work?:: _Harry hissed excitedly. Riddle heaved a sigh and shook his head in a no. Harry saw his tongue flick out and it looked like he was speaking, but Harry couldn't hear it. He grinned and gave the snake a thumbs up.

After several more tries, Harry got it to work. He then reversed the experiment by throwing up a silent area and then sending Riddle to the other side of the room. It worked perfectly on the first try. Harry grinned in triumph and gestured Riddle back.

_::Awesome! Did you hear that? It worked! Now we can talk all we want and my aunt won't hear us, or anybody else!::_

_::No, I didn't hear that.::_ Riddle replied sarcastically, but Harry could hear a grin in his voice. _::Do you know how strong the barrier you set up is?::_

_::Umm…how easily the silent area can be broken or eavesdropped on? I don't have a clue. Do you?::_

Riddle sighed and climbed back around Harry. No use wasting good body heat._ ::Actually, yes, I do. I can sense how strong it is from here. Obviously, muggles can't break it-:: _Harry laughed. _::-but neither can most low-level wizards. I would say…most Hogwarts students couldn't break it. It could probably be stronger if you put more energy in it though.:: _

Harry beamed. _::Really? You think so?:: _Riddle nodded. _::Awesome! I am so using this when I get back in school. For the present though, I should probably work more on the presents. It's a large pile this year, and I need to work more if I want to finish anytime today.::_

Riddle hissed acceptance and quietly lay on Harry's shoulder while he thought and worked. The present wrapping was simple enough it left his mind free to think about things. Right then, he was thinking about Riddle's words. Obviously this was a very special magic snake if he could tell how strong the sound barrier was. Then there was the matter of the comparison. How would Riddle know how strong the average Hogwarts graduate was?

It took a few minutes before the answer smacked itself on Harry's head. Of course-his owner. If he had been kept by a recent Hogwarts graduate, then he would know. Harry wanted to hit himself on the head, but refrained since the scissors were within his grasp. Idiot.

Harry finished Uncle Vernon's presents before talking again. By that time, an hour or two had passed. Petunia had nowhere near the amount of presents Dudley had, but she still had quite a sight more than Vernon. Harry snorted and finished wrapping her few gifts. She had a small necklace from Dudley. He showed it to the snake.

_::Look at this. A cheap muggle necklace, the only thing my cousin bought for his mummy. Yet when she unwraps it, she'll cry and thank her 'Darling Dudders.' I can hear her all the way in my room. Really pathetic. He doesn't care enough to get anything else, or even anything worthwhile for her. Of course, she'll excuse it and say he has a to small allowance or that the nasty boy probably took it or something. Woe betide me if anyone hears her. Luckily, Dudley will be to busy opening his own presents and complaining to hear her, and Vernon will just pretend to listen. He had to get most of the gifts for her. Of course, there are others from Vernon's other families.::_

Riddle sniggered. _::Pathetic, but hilarious. Does she actually believe herself?::_

Harry shook his head sadly. _::'Fraid so. She really believes her son is the most wonderful thing. I'm not to sure what she thinks of Vernon though. It wavers somewhere between the idea that he is the perfect husband and genius, sophisticated businessman.::_ Riddle gagged. Harry laughed. _::Yeah, that's what I think. I can't even imagine Uncle Vernon anything remotely like either of them!::_ Harry and Riddle descended into giggles as Harry finished off Vernon's pile.

Harry sighed as he turned to face his next daunting task. _::Time to climb Mount Everest.:: _So saying, Harry wandlessly summoned the item at the top of the pile. _::I love magic. I really do. I don't have to climb up there to get to the top present anymore.::_

Riddle stopped laughing, and then started again. _::I can see it now, the brave young explorer climbing to the top of a precariously balanced mountain to claim the treasure. He barely makes it back, with it wrapped up nice and shiny before the poor explorers treasure is taken away by the government under false claims.:: _Harry shared a laugh with him as he set the first present aside and summoned the next one.

They traded stories as Harry worked his way through the pile. He sighed once he reached the heavier ones, burdened by memories of nearly being crushed trying to wrap presents. 'I'm a wizard now' Harry reminded himself. 'No more smothering under Dudley's TV while you try to get it off anymore. Now I can lighten objects and make them float like a feather.

Harry gently persuaded Dudley's new bike to float a foot off the floor as he began wrapping it. He twisted the paper, creating a small work of art, even though he knew Dudley would just rip it apart and that no one would appreciate it. Of course, he had forgotten the snake.

_::That really is neat. You wrap well, and even the distasteful recipients of those gifts should realize this.::_ Harry grinned at the snakes praise, but he just shrugged as an answer. After he was working on another, smaller gift, he responded.

_::I think they kind of do. Maybe a little. They seemed disgusted by the state of the wrapping at first, but after I learned, they let me have Christmas off mostly. Maybe that's their way of saying thanks, or their idea of a Christmas present.:: _Harry made his voice sound like Santa Claus. _::You've been a good boy this year, so you get the present of no beatings on Christmas! Have a merry Christmas my boy! Ho-ho-ho!:: _Harry laughed the Santa laugh and then made himself sound like an eager little kid. _::Really Santa? That's the best present ever! No one ever did that for me before! Thank you!::_ Harry snickered.

Surprisingly, so did Riddle. _::That sounds like the meddlesome old coot Albus mixed with jolly old saint Nicholas. Tell me, was there a twinkle in that demented Santa's eye?::_

Harry broke out in full out laughter before he composed himself. He fell apart again as his mind summoned a picture of Dumbledore in garish red robes with a horrible, florid green trim and streaks. He waved his hand, and away he flew on a throne pulled by house elves. Harry shared this vision with Riddle, and he fell apart laughing as well. Harry wondered, at the amount of laughter, if the snake had ever met Dumbledore and seen his lurid robes and was picturing anything like that turned neon red and fluorescent green like he was.

Harry finished off the presents and began the tedious task of bringing them all into the living room under the tree. It was just before midnight when the last one had been delivered. Harry wearily climbed the stairs into his room, tired out by the wrapping, laughing, and the magic he had been performing. He had kept his silencing barrier up the entire time, and had created several layers of them to be sure they weren't heard. He had also done a small compulsion charm of sorts on the door, which prompted Petunia to forget about Harry and go smother Dudley. It was Riddle's idea originally, and they had dissolved into paroxysms of laughter when they heard Dudley after Petunia tried to come yell at Harry. He sounded like he was mortally embarrassed. Harry was definitely glad about that. The charm had been one of the most brilliant things he had tried that day.

Harry lay in bed with Riddle draped across his slightly grumbling stomach. He thought back to the day, and about how knowledgeable Riddle had been. He looked down at Riddle's white form and caught sight of his blood red eyes and a terrible thought hit him. He tried desperately to avoid voicing his thought, even in his mind, and almost managed to do so before he fell asleep. His last thought was 'what if…Riddle is Riddle, not a riddle?'

The riddle in question lay quietly on the boy and the bed, and debated mentally through the night on how he would proceed with his plans.

**Updated: November 28, 2010  
Words: 5,140 story only**


	5. Mind Blocks and a Mother's Love

**Apologies all around to everybody for forcing you to wait so long for the update. My god, has it been two months already?**

**Summary: Harry was forced by Dumbledore to return to the Dursley's over Christmas break. Managing to break out of the house for a little while, he stumbles over a snake in the street that he takes 'home' to his hellhole before it froze to death. While at the Dursley's, Harry begins to utilize the wandless magic he just realized he had. Impressing the snake with his abilities, he discusses with it various topics-the snakes favorite being the Dark Lord. What mysteries does this proud snake hide?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I typed away any rights I may have had to Fanfiction when I published this story though them. I did not own anything anyways.**

**Warning: Watch out-beatings ahead. I hate to write them, and Harry hates to feel them, but Uncle Vernon loves doing it and my storyline needs it. Just cover your eyes until he leaves the room. Also, intense language.**

**Abandoned to the Cold**

**5**

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*-*Mind Blocks and a Mother's Love*-*

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Riddle woke up hissing as he felt the body he had been resting on jerk. He began hissing at Harry to wake up, but Harry just moaned in his sleep and began twisting. Riddle hissed his displeasure as he slithered off Harry and onto the floor as he began tossing over and over. He watched through lidded eyes with the light of the lightning in the background as Harry thrashed and moaned some more. His spitting grew an annoyed tone as the sounds got higher and louder; swelled and shrill, it continued.

Riddle seemed become worried as he realized how vicious the night terror or whatever held Harry 'in its throes did not seem to let him go; instead, it just grew louder. A high whining sound grew in the air. Pressure steadily increased around them, and the air seemed to echo Harry's groans. Harry was groaning no longer, however. His pitiful sounds had grown into harsh panting mixed with silent shrieks, as his writhing grew worse. Riddle noticed how close his struggling was bringing him to the side of the pitifully small object called a 'bed' and hurried into a corner; just in time as Harry landed on the ground on his back with a muffled _THUD_.

All was silent for a moment and Harry seemed to calm, before his chest leapt upward as if it were pulled by puppet strings. He began screaming soft, blood-curdling screams. He screamed, and cried out as the pressure in the 'room' increased into an unbearable level. Riddle shuddered at all of the magic leaking off Harry and flooding the room and the house around them. The magic forced the lights to flicker back on and off, and a small wind rose inside the room. Outside, the storm grew, rising in tandem with the surge of magic. Rain beat against the walls as wind howled around and though the neighborhood, while lightning flashed its heavenly light and thunder played like the devils delight, scaring the mortals and outpouring fright. As the thunder boomed all around, Harry began to let out a horrible sound, a horrifying cry of piercing heights. He screamed, long, loud, and clear, until he just stopped.

A crash flew from where Harry lay, echoing the tempests thunder around them. The pressure in the room momentarily increased to bone-breaking amounts before flooding out. The room returned to normalcy as Harry lay panting on the floor.

Harry ached. Everywhere, every muscle, every bone, every cell, every fiber of his body just _ached_ horribly. He felt like he had just run a marathon designed to kill everyone but those with the highest endurance, and then went and ran it again for fun. All of his muscles seemed stretched, torn, and mending already. He felt the adrenaline leave his system and the pain intensified. It hurt the most around his head and his chest. Every breath tested his strength, but he found the will to stay conscious and keep breathing.

Riddle slowly moved from his corner where he had hid once again and moved over towards Harry as another flash of lightning hit the room. Sweat was pouring off Harry's body, and his black hair was even wilder than before. His face was pale, a pasty color almost as white as Riddle's scales. The snake moved his long, thin body until he was lying next to the shaking Gryffindor.

_::Do something if you're conscious now. You should be, with all of the pain you were apparently in.::_

Harry began to lift his hand in response, but his muscles just trembled weakly in response. He coughed harshly, scraping at his dry throat. _::What I would not have given to rather be under the Cruciatus just then.::_Harry attempted to move again and managed to get a twitch._::Do you have any idea what the bloody hell that was just now? Any ideas would be _greatly_ appreciated.::_

The snake took no note of Harry's sarcasm but remained in thought for a minute as Harry attempted to push himself up. By the time Harry managed to do so, the snake had apparently reached a conclusion. Harry weakly glared at it as he fought not to cry out. _::Your magic broke some restrictions placed on you. Your magic was sealed, and now it is released. It looked like you had some sort of mental block on you as well, with the amount of pain you are and were in.:: _He ignored Harry's sharp intake of breath. _::I would ask you who did this to you, but the most likely Obliviator is-::_

Harry suddenly snapped upright and cut him off. _::HE did it! How dare he! How DARE he seal my magic! How DARE he cut me off from my core! How DARE he cut off part of my personality, and how dare he try to take away from me what makes me me!:: _With a shout, Harry spun and punched the floor. The house reverberated with the deep sounds of the thunder outside that boomed in time with Harry, as if growing angry for him._ ::Oh HELL NO Dumbledore did not do what I know he did!:: _Harry seethed, unmoving.

Drawing up all of his vast amounts of courage, Riddle queried the angry Gryffindor. _::What, exactly, did he do?::_ He automatically tensed when he felt the negative emotions pouring off Harry.

_::That damn piece of shit of a man-goat-fucker did plenty to me! The more accurate question is what did he NOT do! He has set the stage for the world, pulling us all along on the puppet strings he has attached! He forces us to play along with his country-wide game of chess, setting up both sides, and then he plans out how sacrifice all of his pawns for the best way for HIM! He makes us dance along, restricting us to the patterns he forced us into, Obliviating us whenever we stray. He twisted our existence and wrangles it until it benefits him in all the ways he could think of!::_

Harry paused and took a deep breath before he continued his tirade. _::He screwed up my entire life. In the beginning after Voldemort's-::_ Harry winced as he felts Voldemort's anger, curiosity, glee, and –concern?- _::-first downfall, he took me away from the people that loved me and gave me to the people who despised me and everything to do about me! He made sure I grew up miserable and hurt, a child who would cling to the first scrap of affection! Then he paid Ron Weasel to come and be my 'best friend' and 'guide' me though school! He set the Weasleys up to influence my views of the wizarding world, after giving a little background brainwashing with Hagrid! He molded and twisted my other friends mind until he came up with exactly what he wanted!::_

Harry began wildly waving his hands around as Riddle wisely stayed back. _::He set me up, year after year with all the problems I encountered! Well,:: _Harry backed down a little, _::Maybe only with Quirrel and Voldemort-::_Harry felt his indignation, anger, glee, sympathy, some concern, and a deep undertone of satisfaction of having guessed right_::-but he kept pushing my friends and I into one life-threatening situation after another! Yet, after each one, he questioned me extensively with Veritiserum and Legilimancy then Obliviated me afterwards!::_

Harry grumbled and swore under his breath. _::It's no wonder I was crap at Occlumency last year for more than one reason, with all of the times he has broken into my mind and Obliviated me! Every single damn time I questioned him, or had suspicious thoughts about him, POOF went my memories!::_ Harry glared angrily at the wall for a moment as he waited for his hatred to die down enough that he could talk again.

_::That is not all he did though, oh no! No, he had to take away the most precious thing to me, MY MAGIC! The only thing that truly makes me happy and makes my life worth living, he bound up in a tight web! At the beginning of every single damn summer, he would have to reapply the 'life-long' seal! No, not even a life-long seal was enough for him! He rebound it Every. Single. Year, where I could not tell because I was unable to use magic over the summer! He sealed away my LIFE, my ALL.:: _Harry paused, and listened to the storm fade in the background as he let out one last shriek_. __**::HOW DARE HE?:: **_

Riddle was about to reply but both he and Harry froze when they heard locks turning in Harry's door. Harry's blood iced, and adrenaline rushed through his veins again as his fear of what was about to happen took over his whole thought process. "Oh shit…" he whispered, unable to do anything else. Riddle hurriedly slithered his way back into his corner, as the last of the locks were unlocked. Harry began trembling again muttering quietly to himself. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, nononono…" He knew, no matter whether it was his uncle, Dumbledore, or Voldermort behind the door, nothing good would become of it. He began praying to himself that it was the Order come to pick him up again, even as he knew it was not true.

The door was flung open and once again crashed into the wall. Uncle Vernon's furious face filled the room as he fixed his sight on the shaking boy. "YOU! What in the blazes do you think you're doing, shouting freaky things and yelling at the top of your lungs at 3 in the MORNING?" He advanced towards Harry who seemed to shrink in on himself. "You WILL be quiet!" He grabbed Harry's arm and yanked him forward, dislocating his shoulder. Harry bit back a sharp cry as his uncle continued. "No, your kind can't SLEEP like normal people!" He gave Harry's arm a violent shake and Harry's vision blurred out on the edges as the pain rushed into his head.

Vernon threw Harry onto the ground where his arm violently hit the floor. Harry could not hold in his reaction at the sharp pain that accompanied the move and haunted his brain and let out a small cry. "SHUT UP!" Vernon yelled as he kicked Harry into the bed. He was forced against the frame with a _THUD_. "SHUT-UP-YOU-RUDDY-FREAK!" Each syllable was enunciated with a kick that tore Harry apart from the inside. Harry began to feel his ribs crack under the pressure and bit back another scream that came out as a whimper.

"We NORMAL people are trying to SLEEP here! So-SHUT-UP!" Harry's uncle yelled, far louder than Harry had been. Every word came with a blow, and with every blow came an unbearable amount of pain. Vernon carried on for a while, Harry alternately whimpering, giving out little shrieks, and crying out as his body was bruised and broken beyond recognition. Vernon gave one last sickening kick and Harry felt his ribs practically dissolve before he walked out of the room muttering about freaks, slamming the door behind him.

Tears streaming down his cheeks, Harry tried his best not to breathe as he slowly, oh so painfully slowly pulled his body so he lay flat on the floor. Wheezing, he laid his arm on his chest, and focused healing energy into it until he blacked out.

Several hours later, a bruised, bloody, and sore Harry Potter woke up to the hissing of a snake. _::Damn it all, how the bloody hell am I going to fix this mess? First the potion, then the snow, and now I feel for the brat! God damn it all!::_

Harry stayed quiet as he thought about what he just heard. Riddle had not noticed he was awake yet, and he watched as the snake moved from near Harry to 'his' corner of the room. So, his suspicions were not entirely unfounded. Could Riddle actually be Tom Riddle? Harry gave a mental shrug. He did not really care at this point. He thought about Voldemort's recent emotions, and the possible scenarios for that could have caused them, and sighed. Yes, they were what he would predict Voldemort's mood to be if he was Riddle. Harry knew Voldemort fairly well, so he knew he was safe in saying that. Harry decided to let this information slide for a little while until he knew how to better deal with it.

He waited a few minutes, then coughed weakly as he sat up. _::Riddle? What time is it?:: _As he waited for a response, he examined his chest. He had only been able to heal it a minimum amount before he lost consciousness. He imagined knitting the bones and muscles back together, and pleaded for his magic to do just that. He sighed as he felt his torn insides begin to heal and a soft warmth cover him and ease the harsh burns.

_::It is almost 9 o'clock in the morning. Your Aunt stopped by for a minute, but after screeching through the door and then checking on you, she walked away muttering about having to cook supper herself today.::_

Harry grinned as he kept his magic focused. _::Awesome! That means she does not expect me to be able to move for an entire day! Now, I can ask you something about what you might have learned from your 'former master'.::_ Harry lightly teased Riddle, knowing he would not realize Harry knew who he was, and Voldemort had no master! As Riddle huffed, Harry grinned. _::Oh come on, you knew a lot about Occlumency earlier. I am guessing your old caretaker _(Riddle noticeably relaxed at the change of words) _was paranoid enough to think everyone was trying to steal his secrets and read books about Occlumency. Can't you please tell me whatever you overheard? He sounds the type to mutter to himself while working.:: _Harry had begun to imagine Wormtail as Riddle's fake caretaker, and grimaced at the picture of the disgusting rat muttering to himself. He had thought about the excuse he was going to provide Riddle with while he had waited.

The serpent still seemed hesitant. Harry could not blame him. After all, he was considering to offer help to the enemy! However, on the other hand, Harry knew he seemed against Dumbledore, and he was, oh, how much he was against Dumbledick… _::Well, I suppose it cannot hurt too much…::_ Harry cheered inwardly. _::...but I don't know how good my instruction will be.::_

Harry almost giggled. The big, bad, Dark Lord was nervous about helping someone else! _::I am sure it's fine; you can help just by saying whatever he was doing.:: _Harry hid his huge Cheshire Cat grin behind his Slytherin 'eager' mask.

Riddle just sighed. _::Of course. Well, I suppose, the first thing he did was breathing, kind of like how you do it already.:: _Harry snorted. He hoped he breathed already! _::I meant breathed properly, you imbecile! Of course you are breathing already, but to breathe properly, you need to inhale though your nose, hold it for a moment, and then slowly let it out through your mouth. Do that for a while.::_

Harry removed his hand from his chest because he could 'feel' it was almost back to normal after their long conversation. He began breathing slowly, and felt his mind slowly relaxing. After a few minutes, Riddle began hissing softly. _::Good, keep going.:: _Harry drew in another breath. _::Now, in your mind, begin visualizing a place, any place. The first thing that comes to your mind.:: _Riddle hissed so softly, Harry felt himself easily concentrating on the words without losing his focus. He began drawing up a place in his mind, and he found the Room of Requirements taking form in front of his closed eyes. He slowly drew in the room he was picturing until he could see the fire, the two cozy green armchairs, the soft black braided rug, the dark green walls, and the silver polish covering a mirror near the ebony bookcase. The carpet he imagined to go with it shone a dull, cozy silver as well.

Riddle asked quietly, _::Do you have it?:: _Harry gave a slow nod. _::Hold the image there. That is your mindscape, a visual representation of your mind.:: _Harry looked around in awe of the simple elegance of the room. _::Imagine that you are actually there, walking around inside your mind.:: _Harry gave a small frown, but began concentrating on appearing in his room.

With a frown still on his face ten minutes later, he realized it would help if he just pictured the room from his height and from a single person's point of view. His frown morphed into a grin as he found himself walking around. _::Good. Now, right now you are at the beginning point for any Occlumens. From here, you will organize your memories and build up a defense. I will leave you to it, but call me if you need help. Work with sorting through your memories first, and organize them somehow.::_

Harry slowly tuned out the snake that was on his lap and focused completely on his mental room. "Memories first, eh? He grinned, and asked the room to come up with a holographic projector and more bookcases to put the memoires on. He would arrange it so you could pick up a book and insert it into the projector so he could see the memory against a blank solid object. He saw the requested items silently lift up out of the floor around him, already exactly where he wanted it. He wondered if it was because he was in his mind or because he was replicating the Room of Requirements, before deciding it was the former rather than the latter. He spotted a slightly open door out of the corner of his eye, but he decided to explore it later.

Harry began pulling up memory by memory, from his worst moments at the Dursley's to spending a day in the library with Hermione to flying alone over Hogwarts grounds.

Harry started with his most recent memories and slowly worked his way back. He first faced what had happened just hours ago, and placed the blood-red 'book' on a shelf near the back of the room where he would not have to think about it. Harry decided to call this bookcase the 'Forget Everything About Me You Remember" bookcase, or the FEAMYR. He went ahead and set aside several shelves for the Dursleys, since he knew there would be plenty of abuse to put inside it.

He turned to another recent memory, talking to Riddle and what he overheard from Riddle. He went over to the bookcase he was creating for friends, and after some deliberation, placed it on a large shelf. He decided to concentrate on that topic for a minute and continued to put all the memories he had of the snake onto the shelf. Most of the memories came out as books with a silver cover on them. Harry added what he had noticed about the serpent as a small book attached so it was hanging from the bookshelf.

Cautiously, he began a separate shelf near it for Voldemort, before shaking his head and deciding against it. He knew enough about Voldemort to fill up an entire bookcase- or, he would if what he suspected about the snake was right. Harry put his worst memories of Voldemort at the top, with the night of Voldemort's first fall at the top. Harry shuddered as he remembered the horrible green light his body had absorbed, and felt an echo of the pain that had screamed through his body as he managed to spread out the spells power and send most of it back at the man. Harry blinked his eyes open, startled out of his meditation.

_:: I remember! :: _Harry whispered to Riddle, who was still curled on his lap. Harry suppressed a small shudder at the creepiness of it as he pictured another body.

Riddle gave a quiet, whistling chuckle. _:: Of course you will! This helps focus your memories, and sometimes it helps you recover your memories that might have been lost to you at a young age where your brain was not quite developed enough to store them properly. Most Occlumens discover memories from when they were three and four years old. Why? Did you remember something startling? ::_

Harry shuddered as he again remembered what had happened. _:: Yeah, I guess. After all, it is fairly startling when someone tries to kill you with a bolt of painful green light out of the blue, right? :: _Harry paused to let that sink in and Riddle twisted up so that he was seeing eye to eye with Harry.

The owner of the crimson eyes spoke, _:: So you actually remember that night? Can you remember how you, a mere child, could defeat the great Lord Voldemort? ::_

Harry almost laughed as he remembered the specter of Tom Riddle saying almost exactly the same thing. If only Riddle knew! _::Before, all I could remember was, well, mad cackling-:: _Riddle looked affronted _:: and a flash of green light after His quick talk with my mum. Now, though, I could feel what happened after. I saw that _horrible_ :: _Harry jerked unconsciously as he remembered it again _:: horrible, green light. It hit me, and it spread throughout my body. I was doing my best to keep it from immediately killing me as I tried to…I don't know, diffuse the power so it was not concentrated all on one spot. I felt the familiar presence of my Mum help guide me as I manipulated the power, whispering to me how to survive and use her sacrifice. Through the pain, I absorbed most of the power and then shot it away from me, and well, I guess it just hit you. ::_ The snake gave a small flinch, but it saw that Harry was gazing up at the ceiling with his eyes blanked over, so he decided he was just caught up in the memory. _:: It hurt, but I could not handle it all, and He could not handle it all either. The energy formed a connection between us that I controlled, linking us together. I remember flashes of looking down at a baby and staring up at a man, and then agonizing pain when the spell could be held at bay no longer. I knew the green-light man was bad since he had made Mum collapse, so I focused all the rest of the energies on him. I watched as he imploded, just dissolving into the air. His clothes crumpled the floor, empty. I guess that was why Dunderdore never thought he was dead…:: _

Harry trailed off, lost in memory, before he shook his head and returned to the present. He faintly remembered referring to Riddle as Voldemort in his story, and his reaction had fueled his suspicions. Pretending it was just an accident, he ignored the incident and looked back down at the snake with surprised eyes, trying to fuel the idea that he had not realized what he was saying. _::Oh, I'm sorry. I got completely lost in the memory, didn't I? :: _Harry shrugged and sheepishly rubbed his head before lowering it and taking on a serious face. _:: Now, I know you admire Riddle, :: -_the snake almost flinched, Harry could see- _:: But there was really nothing he could do. I had the unpredictable, wild magic of a toddler and a will to live, combined with obscenely large magical resources, obstinate stubbornness, and sheer dumb luck! With all of those weapons at my disposal, I am afraid Riddle did not have a chance, especially with my mother's sacrifice. ::_ Harry grew sad and could look at the eyes no more, the eyes of his mother's killer. He closed his eyes.

He tried his best to stay stoic and calm, but his feelings could not be repressed. It felt like she had just died, mere moments ago before his eyes, and he had just sat there explaining it to her killer! It was not fair! Harry began shaking with the effort to not cry, hands clenched into fists at his side.

Hesitantly, Riddle lowered himself until he was wrapped around Harry in a vague copy of a hug and gave a little squeeze. Sadness leaked through his tone as he spoke. _:: Go ahead and cry. I cried for my mother when I realized she died before I could meet her and I realized I would never be able to speak to her, never be able to make her proud. It's alright for you to feel sad that your mother died protecting you. She loved you so much that she chose to protect you and sacrifice her life, rather than move out of the way. ::_His voice was amazed. _:: Go ahead and cry, little one. Cry for the chance lost to know her, cry for the chance lost to run up and hug her, cry for the chance lost to thank her for anything. :: _

By now, Harry was sobbing and the snake actually had similar tears reflected in his own eyes as Harry gave the snake a hug in return. _:: Cry for the lost opportunities and the activities you will never do together. Cry for the love she gave you that you only got to experience for a short few months. Go ahead and cry, let your heart weep and heal. Not even Lord Voldemort himself can stoically stand such a display of a mother's love. There are only a few things he cannot take with his new sanity, and one is a mothers pure love for her child. Let yourself cry, and take comfort in the little I can give you. Take it in the name of the one who gave you this pain, for with his new sanity, surely this would tear at even his heart as well. Cry, my sweet little snakeling. ::_

Harry cried and cried, burying his face into Riddle's scales. Part of his mind was detached, and wondered at this display of emotion from his worst enemy. He could feel the empathy and sympathy flowing from the connection in his scar, so he knew it was no trick. Any shreds of doubt left disappeared, even as took solace in Voldemort's scales. He wondered how much he had affected him if Voldemort was willing to do this, but he was just grateful that someone understood what he lost and attempted to help him through his pain.

He rocked back and forth, holding tightly onto the snake and sobbing silently so he would not have a repeat encounter with the Dursleys. _:: Thank you :: _he said after an hour of his quiet crying. _:: Thank you for understanding. Thank you for putting it into words, and thank you for helping me through this. Thank you for showing some care, and thank you for holding on to me. Thank you for acknowledging me and not using it against me. Thank you for listening to me and not scorning me. Thank you for not hearing me and putting it off as exaggeration and ignoring me. Thank you for empathizing and sympathizing with me. Thank you. Just thank you, Tom. If you can truly feel that for me, then I forgive you for killing her since she was the one in your path to achieving what you thought was right. Pretty pathetic of me that I can just forgive you like that, huh? :: _

Harry chuckled weakly and stroked the frozen snake before his eyes rolled up into his head and he fell to the floor unconscious again.

Voldemort just stayed wrapped around the boy in shock, before he gently nuzzled his neck. He played sentinel for the boy whose life he had destroyed beyond belief, yet still had the capacity to forgive him when he had done something to help the boy. He shook his serpentine head in shock and awe as he took in the boy. He swore to help protect him. There had to be some way to help him, in return for what he had done.

Voldemort stayed coiled around him as he had barely had enough weight to be noticed, and because he wished to offer the little comfort he could. If it was possible, he would keep the boy safe and try to reverse the irreparable harm he had done to him. He silently comforted him as the day passed and night dragged on, and he fell asleep to the moon's glow.

**Aw! The secret is out, and now you know beyond a shadow of a doubt who the snake is. That's right, it was the Dark Lord Voldemort all along. WHY he is where he is will come up later, just know that he did NOT mean to be trapped as a snake and locked up with Harry Potter.**

**I know he was a little too…OOC at the end, but Harry's emotions were reflecting a little in him and he has lost his own family, remember? He understands what poor Harry is going through, and he admires him for his courage. His opinion of Harry has been rising as the days went by, and now, he holds nothing but utmost respect for harry (or something along those lines). I really did NOT intend for that to be so…sweet though. It was totally unplanned, and I actually was not going to reveal Voldemort for a while yet, but Harry demanded for him to be known. ***Shrugs* **I just write for the characters, and they were all yelling for that to happen. Cleared up my writers block though.**

**I am **SOOOOOOOO **sorry it took so long. I am no longer making empty promises .**

**I think I will copy what I started for my other story. I will ask a question at the end of each chapter, and you leave a review with the answer and your house. The first person to answer correctly gets five points, and the rest get two. If you get the answer half-right, you get just one point. So, onto the first question!**

What does the open door Harry saw represent?

**Stay tuned to for another chapter of Harry: The Founder of the Slytherin Family within a week! (If all goes well. This one will take significantly longer, but hopefully not another two months.)**

**Original chapter published: October 12, 2010  
Words: 4,786 w/o authors notes, 5,289 with.  
Pages: 10 w/ Bookman Old Style size 11 font**


	6. Protection and Manipulation

**I beg all of your pardons for taking another month to update! Look forward to a quicker update this time**

**Updated Summary: Dumbledore forced Harry to return to the Dursley's over Christmas break. Managing to break out of the house for a little while, he stumbles over a snake in the street that he takes 'home' to his hellhole before it froze to death. While at the Dursley's, Harry begins to utilize the wandless magic he just realized he had. Impressing the snake with his abilities, he discusses with it various topics-the snakes favorite being the Dark Lord. He eventually realizes that the snake is in fact Voldemort.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I typed away any rights I may have had to Fanfiction when I published this story though them. I did not own anything anyways.**

**Warning: Very minor cursing. No abuse this chapter!**

**Abandoned to the Cold**

**6**

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-*-Protection and Manipulation-*-

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At 8:00 AM, Harry began to stir. He woke slowly for once, feeling safe and protected. Harry struggled to remember why with his sleep-fogged mind. He knew he had never really felt that way before, except for a rare few occasions when he fell asleep near someone he trusted implicitly-Hermione, and precious few others, if any. So why did he feel safe at the Dursley's?

Harry thought with his eyes clothes. He would never feel safe with Dudley-not after all he has done. Was it Vernon? Definitely not. Petunia- well, he felt the least threatened with her around; she had no muscles or a desire for physical harm. So, was there anyone else in the Dursley household?

Wait- there was. Harry focused his sleep-muddled mind. It was the first time in a long time he had slept in. Even at Hogwarts, he got up early to practice his schoolwork before Ron could distract him and to practice Quidditch with the team-no, Oliver had left school years ago, he woke up early to practice on his own. He wasn't at Hogwarts though, he was at the Dursley's…over winter break. He was with hordes of snow, and a snake. A snake? That's right, he had taken in a long, white snake with red eyes that he had named; he had named it…Riddle. That was it, he felt safe because Riddle was watching him. Yet Harry still felt like he was missing something. Something about Riddle…Tom Riddle! That was it! He had admitted he had realized who the snake was and fell asleep before he could ascertain it's reaction!

Harry almost jumped up before he remembered how safe he had felt just moments ago until his realization drove it out of his mind. Relaxing, he realized he felt safe again, even knowing it was Voldemort that made him feel safe. So how did the Dark Lord make him feel safe? Harry sighed and consciously unclenched the muscles in his neck where it was lying against the bedpost. He felt the snake wrapped around him, looping around his chest like a reptilian hug with it's head in his lap. Harry tried to picture it in his mind's eye, but all he could see was a middle-aged Tom Riddle hugging him. Harry shook his head, dislodging the picture and opening his eyes. He looked down, and there he was. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he realized he didn't know what to say, or even if the snake was awake.

He frowned and focused on their link. He got the impression of a door opening wider, with faint streams of feelings flowing out of it. He felt a sense of things he had never felt Voldemort feel before, as well as ones he had-peace, protectiveness, wariness, satisfaction, and growing impatience. Harry also felt that Voldemort was awake, and guessed that he was getting irritated because he could tell Harry was awake and was waiting for him to say something first.

_::Good morning. Do you know what time it is? ::_ Harry chickened out of a confrontation and asked a decidedly neutral question.

_:: I have not the faintest of ideas. Call up a wandless Tempus or something, because your watch is completely broken. ::_

Harry sighed, and summoned his power and impressed on it the feeling of wanting to know the time. After a few minutes, the numbers appeared in midair along with a date. Harry whistled under his breath. _:: 8:25 in the morning on Christmas morning. Merry Christmas, Riddle. Or would you rather go by…? ::_ Harry trailed off, unwilling to say it now that he had forgiven him and when his judgment was not clouded by emotion. He had no idea how to confront the situation and was unwilling to bring down the Dark Lord's ire by accident.

Said Dark Lord sighed. _::I hate that name, but I suppose it's better than having you get a flash of insight every time you use my chosen name. ::_

Harry winced. Now that both sides had admitted they knew the snake was Voldemort, how could he navigate the upcoming discussion without hitting a rock of anger? Harry knew that what he was about to admit might make Voldemort mad. _::Thank you, I suppose. However, you should know that I can also guess your mood from just concentrating on wanting to know. ::_

Voldemort hissed angrily. _:: Don't! ::_

Harry rolled his eyes and leaned back against the uncomfortable bed, and began slowly stroking the snake's scales near his hand. _:: I was not planning on doing so anytime soon, and definitely not with malicious intent. Though I do have to wonder, since I have a connection to you, shouldn't you have a connection to me? ::_ Harry paused, then pressed forward. _:: That night, I remember seeing out of your eyes for a second or to, then back through mine, then yours, and then mine again. I don't suppose that you had the same experience, did you? ::_ Harry paused, grief rising up as he recalled that night where his parents had died. Sure, he had forgiven Voldemort the night before, but he did not mean he wanted to talk about it!

Voldemort hesitantly nodded. _::I did. So, if your theory of a two-way connection is correct, how do you suggest I call up this connection? You know you decided to tell me when you informed me of this fact. ::_

Harry grimaced. _::Like you would have left me alone if I did not tell you. Just…concentrate on wanting to know how I feel. Picture a door, connecting our minds. I have eased the 'mental door' open from my side partway. I know you have your 'door' open enough to send dreams through, so just focus on 'receiving' my feelings instead of 'sending' me dreams. By the way, your dreams suck. Horribly. I did NOT want to see Snape or any of your other followers like that. Honestly, I feel mentally scarred from that alone! :: _Harry took up a light, teasing tone totally inappropriate for talking to a dark lord with. _::I don't mind the fact that they were all men, but seriously? Doe the greasy Potion's Master actually look like that in bed? Never mind, I remember now. He doesn't look half bad actually, but he can't be __half__ that limber, can he? He's what, 50? ::_

Riddle snorted._ ::37, actually. I have one word that explains it all: potions. ::_

Harry paused stroking long enough to smack himself in the head. _::Oh. Duh. Anyways, you might have it harder because you seem to be a natural sender, not a receiver, but you should be able to do it. ::_ Harry frowned. _::I will focus on a particular emotion and try to send it to you, while you try to pick it up. Tell me once you can feel what it is. Try using my name as a key to open the door, if all else fails. :: _Harry tried not to think about how surreal the situation was, teaching his one-time enemy how to look into his mind.

Harry took one last look at the snake, and began to select the emotion. What would he project? Definitely not a negative emotion. Love? No, focusing on love with Riddle on top of him would be would be weird, especially after discussing his dreams, even if it was only in passing. Happiness? Another no, he had felt so little of that strongly in his lifetime… Harry flashbacked to when he first woke up. Safety? Actually, that was pretty good. He still felt safe, odd though it was with Voldemort wrapped around him. He focused on that feeling, the reassurance that came from having a true protector for the first time. Harry could feel faint feelings of protectiveness from Voldemort's side of the door, and used that to fuel his feeling of security. Safe, he was, wrapped in white scales. He finally had someone who would help him, though how Harry knew that, he had no idea. He focused on that feeling of being protected, the warmth he felt from knowing there was someone that would just be **there** for him if he needed it.

He focused on the safety and happiness that brought him, and tried to push it towards Voldemort. Going into his meditation, focused not on clearing his mind but feeling this and excluding everything else, and pushing it through the door that appeared in front of his closed eyes. He felt reluctance, and the darkness of leftover insanity clinging to the doorframe, but he aimed his clear-headed feelings at it and watched it disintegrate. He felt a questing thought on the other side, trying to get through as well. Gently, Harry pushed his feeling towards it. Harry let his feeling of safety surround the air around it and fill the room before it slowly pulled back.

_::Safety. ::_

Harry smiled as he let his mindscape fade and pulled himself back into the tangible world, answering Voldemort's unspoken question. _::Safety. ::_

_::I don't … understand. Why do you feel so safe? ::_ Voldemort was almost hesitant in his question, his admittance in not knowing.

_::Well, first off, what did you feel? ::_ Harry asked sensibly, unwilling to explain more than he had to. He was unsure if he could actually explain the unreasonable safety he felt.

_::I felt…surrounded by warmth. A feeling of peace and protection, knowing I was safe. Under it, was the feeling…of being wrapped in protection. Is that how you feel? ::_ Voldemort sounded curious. Focusing, Harry could tell that he felt curious too, that this exercise was awakening long forgotten feelings in him.

_::A little. For some reason, my magic is telling me that you swore to protect me or something, and that I should take comfort and not fear from you. :: _Harry shrugged, though he thought it was quite odd that he could feel his magic singing that fact, telling him that Voldemort had promised protection and would never willingly harm him again.

_::Your magic is telling you that? Are you sure you are not imagining things? ::_

Harry shook his head stubbornly, eyes completely closed. _::No. I cannot explain it…but there is this undeniable feeling in me, the feeling of magic, and it is telling me now that you swore to help me. ::_ Harry paused, poking at the feeling. _::I kind of get the impression that it wasn't a spoken promise…but a promise from the heart. Something you don't just say, or say for the heck of it. It feels like you truly mean to protect me, and not for anyone else. ::_ Harry blushed, realizing how conceited that sounded, how unlikely that the Dark Lord of the centuries had promised protection to him- to HIM! His light mood soured and plummeted as his thoughts took a dark turn. The worthless freak, the unloved one, the betrayed one, the puppet, the manipulated, the fool, the bound, the destined, the fated to be, the failure, the pathetic, the-

_::The what? The only one to temporarily beat me? The one so powerful Dumbledore had to bind him up? The one so strong that the weights could not hold him down? The one who was treated unfairly all of his life yet still wants to help others and create a fair world? The one who is curious enough he can unravel Dumbledore's plane? The one mentally strong enough to resist a Death Eater's Imperio the first time he was hit? Don't think I didn't hear about that- Crouch went on for days about that. The one who is charismatic enough he started a Defense club in his fifth year? Of course, I did something similar, called it Death Eaters because I trained them to deliver and avoid death-not that it worked. You did though- your first battle situation with only a few people and you all made it out alive and well even though you were against my well trained group. I swear, Malfoy whined in all of his letters home about you and your little club-and I had to read them all. So, which are you? The one who fails, or the one who succeeds? ::_

Harry's thought's had been frozen the second he heard Riddle speak. Disbelief warred with hope as he listened. As Voldemort finished, hope faded and disbelief won. _::If you were not a dark lord, which I am now doubting after that, I would accuse you of lying or horribly exaggerating._

Riddle just stared at him for a moment, before speaking in a very dark tone. _::Did you just accuse me of lying? ::_

Harry shook his head frantically, reading the warning signs Voldemort was screaming at him. _::N-No! You were not lying…but you did exaggerate…and you did not account for all the help and stuff…like the Order members helped at the Ministry, and it was Hermione with the idea of the DA. With the Imperius- I did not resist it either. I crashed into the bloody desk he wanted me to jump on! ::_

Riddle lifted his tail and whacked Harry on the side of the head with it. _::Listen well, because this is the last time Lord Voldemort will reassure somebody. You are a powerful wizard, and a bloody good one too. End of story. How else would you be able to defeat the Great Lord Voldemort, even with all external help and only temporarily? ::_

Harry paused and shook his head. _::Yeah…hey, do you always refer to yourself in third person? I just…I don't know why, I just cannot believe in myself, or something. Every time something gives me confidence, it just…is overwhelmed by all the bad stuff. ::_

Voldemort paused to think. _::That could actually be Albus' fault. You said he subconsciously planted feelings, didn't you? :: _Harry nodded with gritted teeth as his hands stopped moving and balled into fists. _::Then perhaps this is from some of the leftover suggestions. ::_

Harry looked down and noticed his hands. He slowly uncurled his fists and resumed stroking the snake. _::How…can I forget these feelings? I just feel so…pathetic. ::_

Voldemort sighed. _::There are several ways I know of. You can wait for them to fade on their own without any outside interference, which could take many years. You can also have people tell you the exact opposite of what you heard, and that could reduce the time to only a year or months. Then there is Occlumency, which you can use to block out those feelings, but I highly doubt you would be able to do that for several weeks at the least if you constantly practice your Occlumency. Then there is the hardest to manage but the quickest to accomplish way: invite someone else into your head and have them help you with it. They can either block away the suggested ideas and feelings or plant suggestions that cancel out the first ones. Or, if the Legilimins is unusually talented, he can erase the suggestions without blocking them, damaging the mind, or adding more suggestions-which can sometimes have a detrimental effect. This last option is better than just planting opposite suggestions because it can occasionally cause a Multiple Personality Disorder. ::_

Harry leaned back and thought, never stopping his gentle stroking of Riddle even as the snake began to slither so it's head was resting near Harry's shoulder. _::Well, Riddle, how good of a Legilimins are you? ::_

The snake froze. Then it began to laugh. _::Your audacity astonishes me yet again, Snakeling. Only you would offer the Dark Lord an invitation to your mind. I can feel your determination-and your belief I that I will not harm you. Have you gotten over your feelings of inferiority and truly believe that I would not plant suggestions, such as to join me or kill Dumbledore? I have done that before, as my skills as a Legilimins are indeed very good. ::_

Harry laughed softly. _::Of course they are. It seems that you are good at all that you put your mind to, except destroying one child. However, I knew there was a reason that you knew all about subconscious suggestions and how to neutralize them; honestly, I never expected less. What kind of Dark Lord would you be if you did not take advantage of others? You would have no need for your…extra suggestions in my mind, seeing as I already plan on turning against Dumbledore. As for joining you, I have occasionally entertained that thought since the beginning of this year, if it were not for the fact that A) you were insane and B) my best friend is a muggleborn and C) you would have thought it a plot of Dumbledore's-but I don't really want to talk about that right now. What I want to know is if you have enough skill to counter the suggestions-which I know you do- and if you will perform that service for me without altering my mind. ::_

Voldemort pulled back and swayed back and forth in front of Harry. Harry stared at it, determinedly meeting the blood-red eyes, hand still stroking the snake, no fear in his eyes. Voldemort pulled back. _::You have an answer, and luckily for you, it is yes to both questions. However, I shall perform this service for a small fee, as it were. I may be more inclined to…protect you now, but I would prefer some gain for this favor. ::_

Harry nodded and closed his eyes, lifting up his wand hand. _:;I, Harry James Potter, offer a small service in return for the assistance of Tom Marvolo Riddle, Lord Voldemort, in clearing foreign influences from my ,mind so long as long as he resists from further manipulations or alterations without my permission. ::_ A slight wind picked up and swirled around them, and if Harry's eyes had been open, he might have seen the faint shimmer in the air before it faded. He opened his eyes too late though, and smirked down at Voldemort. _::So, how will this work? ::_

Voldemort shook his head. _::Rash Gryffindors. ::_

Harry's smirk was firmly in place as he responded. _::How many rash Gryffindors do you know who would word an oath carefully? ::_

Voldemort snorted._ ::Apparently one. All you have to do is look straight into my eyes while meditating. After you call up your mindscape, I will enter it using Legilimancy. Since Legilimancy is a wandless magic, I should be able to do it even though I am trapped in snake form. ::_

As Harry focused on the snake, he said, _::Remind me to ask you about that later. ::_ He saw the snake bob its head in response as he focused on its eyes.

Harry looked into the crimson eyes. Surrounded by white, they almost looked like twin, shapeless roses in the snow. They shone brightly, reflecting like garnets in the sunlight streaming through the window. He focused on them as he concentrated on breathing slowly. He felt his eyes close and watched the eyes fade as he pulled up his mindscape. The silver and green room rose from the depths of Harry's mind, solidifying as Harry poured more and more detail into it. The chairs gained distinction, their stitching clear. The rug was a bright contrast against the walls. He felt his mouth move from his body as he spoke. _::Ready.::_

Gently, a door appeared in his mind in the wall, slightly apart from the other one. Just as Harry could feel the original door was a link to Voldemort, he could feel that this door was a link to outside his mind. He heard a gentle knocking against it. "Let me in, brat."

Harry gave a mental grin as he felt himself materialize in his mind, the outside world forgotten and firmly entrenched in his own mind. "Of course." He waved his hand and the door opened, willed to do so by Harry. In strode Voldemort. Harry almost did a double take as he took in his appearance.

Instead of the scaly man he was expecting, Voldemort had the body of a thirty year old, with pale skin but no trace of scales. He had his nose firmly in place, a pair of fine eyebrows, and a head full of shoulder-length black hair. His eyes had stayed red, but rather than being murky, insanity-filled orbs, they were a bright red the color of life's vital blood. They shone as brilliantly as they had when he was a snake. Harry gave a low whistle. He actually looked handsome, just standing there in Harry's mind. "So, do you actually look like that now? Or is that just how you wish you looked?"

Voldemort gave him a small sneer which faded quickly. "I was well on my way to this look with a potion Severus was making for me, but there was a small incident…" Voldemort trailed off, looking away from Harry's curious gaze. He quickly reestablished his gaze and banished the slight blush that had registered on his features. "That is not why we are here though. Somewhere in your mind, most likely in a corner, it will be darker than the rest. Or there will be whisperings in the air. Speaking of the room, nice color scheme you have going on. Very Slytherin of you."

Harry turned away with a huff. "My mind is like the Room of requirements-right now, in its decoration, it is just reflecting…" Harry trailed off. What could he say? That his mind was reflecting that he felt secretive and sly? Or that this was his true interior, that what he normally presented to the world was a Gryffindor mask that had fallen when he had found Voldemort? Harry was shaken out of his thoughts when Voldemort came over to him and literally shook him, bringing him back to the forefront of his mind.

"Brat – don't be so defensive. That was a compliment from a Slytherin. Of course, if one of your Weasel friends said that, you could have been sure it was an insult. Now, if you are going to brood, go and brood in one of those nicely colored chairs out of the way as I examine your mind. Who knows what dark secrets I could find that the wizarding world's Golden Boy has been hiding from the public."

Harry gave a little laugh at Voldemort's mocking tone. "Quite a few things, I would imagine. Say, for one, a deep hatred for one Albus Dumbledore. For another, you might find a newly started amicable relationship with said wizarding world's current Dark Lord." Harry gave an unrepentant grin as Voldemort scowled at him.

"Brat! Remind me again why I am doing you a favor…" Voldemort frowned and examined Harry's mindscape, focusing on a corner that seemed slightly darker than the others, and grew darker as silence stretched on. He turned around to look back at Harry, who had not moved with a confused look on his face. He sighed as the room grew darker and the feeling of bewilderment filled the air. "Snakeling, Albus sure did a number on you, didn't he?" He waited for a response, but did not get any as Harry just frowned at the floor, his mind growing steadily darker.

Harry distantly noted Voldemort coming close to him again as he focused on his half-joking question. Why was he helping him? Sure, he got a peek into his once-enemies mind, and got a favor in return, but why would he help him in any way, shape, or form? Anyone who tried to help him was doomed. Harry gave a small shake of his head. No, it was not true. Yet when could someone ever say they were helped by knowing him, and not harmed? Ron never truly helped him. Hermione was repeatedly obliviated. Then there was-Harry's mind searched, but he could not think of any others who had helped him. Sirius! That was another-but he was dead, because he tried to save Harry. Neville, Ginny, and Luna were all hurt in that same incident. His parents had died to help him live-

His thoughts were broken off as Voldemort reached him again and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, forcing him to sit in one of the chairs. "Snakeling, listen to me. You need to fight this feeling, or else I cannot help you."

Harry looked up into Voldemort's eyes, all of his strength gone as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "How can I, when all of it is true? Can you name one person who has benefitted from being anywhere near me?"

Voldemort gave a groan. Harry heard and winced. "You honestly cannot think of anybody you have helped?" Harry shook his head slowly, eyes not leaving Voldemort's face, pleading for him to give an answer. Harry saw Voldemort's eyes soften slightly. "Little brat, there are many who have been helped by you, but only one really matters in my opinion." Harry's face brightened, but he felt confused. Who would Voldemort care about that he had helped? The man in question rolled his eyes. "Come on, little snake. Who did you recently restore to sanity after years of insanity?" Voldemort smirked and pulled back. "While you rediscover your feeling of self-worth from helping the greatest Dark wizard of all times, I shell examine your mind. Please refrain from further self-doubtful thoughts, as they are a great annoyance to reassure against."

Harry relaxed into a chair, gave a little laugh, and watched as he gave Voldemort free reign over his mind. He was right, wasn't he? After all, who was he to say that the 'Great Lord Voldemort' was wrong? He watched with distanced eyes as said person inspected his mind. After a few minutes, he felt his confidence return enough that he could respond to his helper. "Of course, since we know how difficult it is for the Great Dark Lord to reassure somebody." Harry gave a smirk as he saw Voldemort relax. Finally, he felt like he could think again! Filled with renewed confidence, he stood up and began to help Voldemort. "What exactly are you looking for anyways?"

Voldemort turned to face him. "Finally recovered, have you? Good. What I am looking for right now is a darkened area, or a space where you can literally feel self-doubt hanging in the air. I caught sight of it earlier, but it disguised itself and disappeared as I went to 'comfort' you." Voldemort sneered.

Harry smirked as he began scanning the room. "Of course it did. It was so shocked that you could actually help somebody that it faded away!" Harry spotted a small shadow, but looked away when he noticed that a book of memories cast it. He made to turn away, before he looked back at the shadow and frowned, as he felt unease about it for some reason. Shrugging, he looked away again before it finally hit him why the shadow was suspicious. The bookcase that cast the shadow was filled with books on Dumbledore.

"Hey, Riddle?" Voldemort paused for a moment before turning, scowling at Harry. "Could you…I don't know, check out that shadow? I feel a little worse the closer I move to it." So saying, Harry stepped away and pointed at the shadow in question. He stepped farther back and sighed as he felt more self-doubt leave.

Voldemort spared him a glance before advancing on it. He narrowed his eyes as he got closer to the shadow, watching as it shifted away from him, drawing close to the bookcase and slipping into the books. Voldemort scowled harshly.

Harry moved closer, noticing that though some doubt returned, it was much less than before. "What happened?" he asked, curious. The feelings had slipped away, like all traces of Dumbledore's manipulations, leaving only a vague impression behind.

"This task just got a lot harder, that's what happened." Voldemort glared at the bookcase, drawing his leg back as if he meant to kick it. Harry looked at the leg, amused. Would the Dark Lord lower himself to striking inanimate objects? He sighed as he saw the leg still.

"How much harder did this get? Knowing that this is all Dumbledore's fault, I have to bet it is a hell of a lot harder. Can you guess how much time it will take?" Harry moved to stand beside Voldemort, examining the large bookshelf and feeling strangely comfortable next to his old enemy. He idly noted he felt much more comfortable around his parent's killer except for maybe Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. 'But such is the Wizarding World,' he thought. 'No appreciation for common sense or reason anywhere.

Voldemort leveled a death glare at the offending bookcase. "Extremely hard. Dumbledore's manipulations manifestations split up and hid themselves inside memories of him that you have collected through the years. We will need to go through all the memories you have of him and lock the suggestions in a single book until I can destroy them." Harry drew in a deep breath, looking at the size of the bookcase.

It was huge. Humongous. Ginormous. Beastly. Insanely sized. As high as the current prices. Ridiculously large. As long as Dumbledore's lies. Dudley and Vernon combined-sized big. If that was not scary big, then nothing was. It loomed, intimidating in Harry's mind.

Harry whispered weakly. "All of them?"

Voldemort grimly nodded. "All of them."

Harry's knees gave out. "I have to go through all my memories of-of him?" He fell to the floor, or he would have if Voldemort had not caught him. He saw brief flashes of what he would have to listen to, what he would have to watch happen again.

"I'm afraid so, little snakeling. And I'm afraid that I will be here through all of it, as I will undoubtedly have to knock you out of any silly moods Dumbledore locks you in." Voldemort gave a small sneer, but it was aimed at the bookcase and not Harry.

Harry felt faint amusement at his words, but he looked up at the intimidating bookcase and felt his amusement fade. "Help me, please…" he whispered.

Voldemort looked down with pity at his little snakeling, so hurt that just imagining going through memories scared him. He knew he could never do as much damage to this boy as Dumbledore had done to him. He gave him a small hug, completely out of his Dark Lord character and into the protective mood Harry seemed to drive him into. "Of course I will. Who else would I most need to protect you from but Dumbledore? Didn't we already establish that I will protect you?" He gave him a soft smile and a little squeeze that looked oddly natural on his softened face.

**And that's that! I hate to break the pattern of ending at night, but I already reached 12 pages and over 5,000 words. Besides, it was a very nice semi-cliffie to leave you at!**

**I need to apologize (again) about taking so damned long to update again, don't I? Sorry guys. Next chapter should be out in two weeks. This chapter I had no idea what to do with, which is partly why it took so long. The other chapter I am starting as soon as I wrap up this authors note.**

**Ugh, fluff! Nasty, icky, fluffy, emotional crap. And this chapter is full of it! GAAAAHHHH! Hopefully, they are getting it all out of their systems NOW. ALL of it. I noticed that I have been bouncing around in my writing style. Yeah, I have problems sticking with a tine or style of writing. I want to keep it like I was in the first chapter, but I have a hard time keeping it constant…though I did get it in the end. Either that, or it's all in my imagination and I am just an amazing author in everything I write.**

**Speaking of the first chapter, I went back and edited the first 5 chapters. There were not any major changes, but the story flows much better now, and some of the grammar was fixed.**

**Question time! Last chapter the question was, **"What does the open door Harry saw represent?" **I believe that was quite clearly answered in this chapter. The door is a representation of Harry's connection to Voldemort. Kudos to all who got it correct!**

**Congratulations to Allyieh for being the first one right! Unfortunately, she(he) forgot to name their his(her) house, so no big points to any one house.**

Arya19: 2 points to SLYTHERIN!  
LaTil: 2 points to GRYFFINDOR!  
Bookworm-chan: 2 points to SLYTHERIN!  
Darkserpentcat: 2 points to SLYTHERIN! (real chatty, aren't you?)  
Aya Macchiato: 2 points to SLYTHERIN! (and I absolutely love your writing)  
Natuskoni: 2 points to RAVENCLAW! (finally…)  
Badbonita: 2 points to RAVENCLAW! (that's the whole point of this part-bonds.)  
Allyieh: 1 point to ALL!  
HigurashiLucy Dark Fey: 1 point to ALL!  
AlyceLovesShadow: 1 point to ALL!  
MegaKiraraLover: 1 point to ALL!

**The final scores are:  
Slytherin: 12  
Ravenclaw: 8  
Gryffindor: 6  
Hufflepuff: 4**

**You reviewers are just plain AWESOME! Your reviews really help me write. I have an **_extremely_** hard time finisheing or continuing anything once I stop, even if it's just for the night, so thank you for keeping me going!**

**This chapter, the question is:  
**When Voldemort refers to Severus' potion and an incident, what had happened?

**Good luck! Do not forget to leave the name of your house with your answer; otherwise, a point will be given to all four houses. The first person to get it right receives 5 points, and the rest 2.**

**Original Chapter uploaded on: November 28, 2010  
Pages: 12 w/ size 11 Bookman Old Style font.  
Words: 5,146 w/o authors note.**


	7. Memories and the Greater Good

**Ha! This time I do not need to apologize for taking so long.**

**Revamped Summary: Dumbledore locked Harry at the Dursley's for Winter Holiday's. Several days before Christmas, Harry finds a snake out in the snow. He brings it in and calls it Riddle, sheltering it in return for it's comfort. After breaking Dumbledore's power restraints, he realizes that the snake is actually Voldemort. The next day, he begins working together with Voldemort to get rid of Dumbledore's manipulations in his mind.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing of this is mine-blame Fanfiction! Curses! I had almost convinced myself I actually owned Harry Potter before I posted this story and read the Terms of Agreement. All of this is Fanfiction's now! Noooo…**

**Warning: Blood, minor cursing…and that's it for now. No slash yet, and NO, the ending is NOT slash.**

**Abandoned to the Cold**

**7**

** **  
-'-,-'- Memories and the Greater Good }-,-'-,-  
** **

Harry was frozen inside his mind, staring at the giant bookcase of memories in terror. He could not move, kneeling on the floor. Gently, Voldemort made to pull back from his unexpected hug, but Harry gave a tiny, almost inaudible whimper. The man stopped, before sighing and pulling away fully and dragging Harry to his feet.

"Come on, Snakeling. They are only memories. How bad can they be?" Voldemort was attempting to be comforting, but he had no idea how to be so.

"Bad," Harry whispered. He gave a full body shudder and stepped slightly closer to Voldemort, seeking comfort from the only person that was there to give it. Bad did not even begin to cover how awful the memories were. Horrendous might begin to describe it. Anything less was a massive understatement. Harry had been plagued by nightmares for all of his life, and most of them could be credited for the memories contained within the bookshelf in front of him. Over a decade and a half of torment was caused by what he had contained within the books inside.

He managed to draw his eyes away from the looming object and turned them to Voldemort instead. "You promise to help?" He whispered, hating himself for his weakness. He watched as Voldemort smirked.

"Remember brat-Voldemort never says anything he does not mean. I already said I would help, so who are you to doubt me?"

Harry felt his confidence returning as the man's smug confidence infected the air around him. "Apparently I am nothing but a rash Gryffindor, if you wish to go by what Snape thinks of me. If you listen to Malfoy though, I am sure I am a bloody brat who does not know how to mind his own business or how to conduct myself in decent wizarding company."

Voldemort sneered. "Neither of them has judged you accurately, apparently. Then again, your actions have been spot on in some places. What else would you call inviting the fearsome Dark Lord into your mind but rash Gryffindor behavior?"

Harry smirked, even as he eyed a gold lamp in the corner of his mind. "I might call it a very intelligent decision, perhaps. Either that or, yeah, that Gryffindor foolishness. Considering that I can somewhat read your emotions, I prefer to think that it was the former and not the latter. Are you still planning to manipulate me like the old codger?" Harry's eyes glinted as he looked at the snake lord. He dared him to say yes.

Voldemort smirked back at him. "You think you are such the clever one, you tell me, little Snakeling. "

Harry returned his smirk, all thoughts of self-doubt forgotten. "Are you honestly asking if I do not think you will turn this situation to your favor?" At Voldemort's small nod, he let out an undignified snort. "You honestly think I will say no, don't you?"

Voldemort laughed. "You still call this an intelligent decision?"

Harry shrugged and slowly turned back to the bookcase. "I do, because my answer to your question is actually a no. Frankly, no one can manipulate me as much as Dumbledore has. Nobody else has planned my life since my birth. Anyways, I already told you that you have no reason to try to manipulate me. Any manipulation on your part would only make me distrust you. I would much rather prefer an open confrontation at a later date." Harry wondered if Voldemort would actually try to influence him, but he truly believed he would not. He observed Voldemort's feelings and watched a bit of air float in from Voldemort's door on the other side of the room. He 'felt' the man's amazement, smugness, irritation, and confidence. The oddest emotion he could feel though was a sense of pride. Not pride in himself, but pride for him-Harry. A slight bit of worry colored the entire spectrum of feelings.

Harry saw Voldemort shake his head out of the corner of his eye as the both looked at the bookcase. Harry sighed, and with some trepidation, moved to and grabbed the top-left book. He looked at the Avada Kedavra colored cover. He pulled it closer to him so he could see it clearly. He walked back to Voldemort, holding up the book with a question in his eyes. "So, do we just read this, or what?"

Voldemort sneered at the book. "That's all you have to do. I will set up a trap of sorts in your mind that will catch any of the suggestions that appear, as they are bound to. Since you are bound to fall into self pity if no one helps you, I shall supervise you in your reading. Before we do anything, though, don't you think that you should prepare in case your abominable guardians enter your room?" His sneer was transferred from the book to the door facing the outside world and the Dursley's.

Looking at the doors, Harry frowned. How was he supposed to tell the two apart? He flicked his finger at the door, wishing for a plaque to appear on it and a small window. As before, his mental room responded to his wishes. A small window appeared in the top half of the door and a plaque emerged to the right of the door. Harry looked at his small creation with a bit of pride as Voldemort snickered as he read the plate. Harry spoke what he had written on it aloud. "Life sucks." Harry snickered to himself before finally answering Voldemort's question. "This is my Christmas present. I get one full day to myself, with no additional injuries. I can do whatever I want in my room all day, and they will not set foot in it. The next day, of course, it is back to normal. That is when they show off all the gifts they got and give me those two gifts I wrapped the other day."

Voldemort sighed. "This means that we can expect no interruptions then?" Harry nodded. Voldemort gestured to the book. "Then we better get reading."

Harry nodded grimly and made to open the book. When he opened the cover, his mindscape blurred and transformed into a small, dark room. Harry looked around before spotting a crib. He walked over to it and peered at the baby inside. A small dark haired baby was in there, sprawled out on the sheets. A sickly green light shone out from its forehead. Harry turned to Voldemort, who was standing in the corner of the room, looking around interestedly. "Was that supposed to happen?"

Voldemort shrugged. "It changes. Apparently, you would rather see the memory again with me than read it alone. Why are we just standing here?"

Harry shrugged and turned to look at the door. He stopped as he saw a bunch of clothes lying on the floor. He looked back at the baby and back to the floor. He reached over and examined the clothes. He wrinkled his nose. "Either I just vaporized you, or my dad couldn't wait to take off until he got into his room to take off his clothes." Harry cringed. "No offense, but I hope the clothes are here because you evaporated,"

Voldemort looked affronted. "You would rather I almost died than picture your mother and father together in the room right next to-"

Harry cringed and covered his ears. "Yes! That's right! I don't want any pictures of that! Get them out of my head!" Smoke appeared for a moment and drifted away from Harry's head. He sighed in relief before the smoke began to take shape. Horror overtook his features as he heard noises coming from it. "NO! No, just send Dumbledore in here already!" Voldemort started chuckling even as the smoke disappeared and the door opened. Dumbledore walked in with his lurid purple robes and over to the baby.

He picked up the small child, frowning to himself. He traced a finger over the lightning-shaped mark on his forehead. He watched the toddler cringe and wake up, crying. "Poor thing," Harry heard him mutter. "A sacrifice for the world, and a step I must take for the sake of the Greater Good." Harry frowned. He shook his head.

"Did I just hear him use capitals in the greater good?" Voldemort nodded.

"Not only is he capitalizing the phrase, but he is planting a suggestion." A book appeared in midair next to Harry. Its cover was the same awful purple of Dumbledore's robes, with light pink polka-dots spattered around. The room grew darker, before it gathered into a small ball of black that emerged from the child's head. It left, reluctantly pulled into the book. Harry looked back at the book to see ugly, dull specks of black dotting the cover like a very light covering of glitter. Harry reached over and picked up the horrid thing.

"Did it have to be this ugly?" He asked, staring at it in revulsion.

Voldemort shrugged. "It represents Dumbledore's manipulations. What did you expect?"

Harry shrugged; staring at the book like it had personally offended him. "Something a little more subtle, perhaps." He opened the book and read the first sentence of the single passage written inside. "Sacrifice yourself," Harry whispered. He stared at it, unable to move even as his mindscape reappeared. He stared at the book. Except for one year, he had lived his whole life under a subconscious suggestion. He could not drag his eyes away from that sentence to read what was under it. Why did it matter? Here was solid evidence Dumbledore had wanted him to live like a sacrificial lamb.

He was jerked out of his thoughts as a pale hand pulled the book away from him and began reading it aloud. "Sacrifice yourself. It was partially broken at age seven after reading an inspirational book. The sentence, 'Live your life for yourself as if no one is watching,' affected this the most, going directly against what was suggested. Reaffirmed on September 1st, 1991." Voldemort snorted. "Apparently, this was close enough to your original mindset you never truly broke it. According to this, you have had suicidal tendencies since you were only a year old." He snapped the book shut and whacked Harry over the head. "So don't worry, Mr. Lifeguard, that was all you."

Harry unfroze and blew out a sigh of relief. "So, I would have my 'saving-people thing' even without Dumbledore?"

Voldemort rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Exactly. No one ever accused you of being sane and reasonable, brat. Your suicidal tendencies are all yours. No outside influences were needed. According to Severus, you can blame your mother for that. Your father was a stuck up prat. Your mother, however, was known around Hogwarts for her fiery temper but kind mind. All of Severus' diaries said the same thing. She was an amazing friend and a powerful woman."

Harry sniffed, trying not to cry over his mum. Voldemort's eyes softened. Harry gave him a weak smile before it vanished, replaced with a startled look. "Wait-his diaries?" Harry's face turned to disgust. "You read the bat's diaries?"

Voldemort nodded. "All of them. I needed to know how serious he was about joining me, with a muggleborn as his friend. Every single one had potions in it. Potions and spells he created were two of the four things his diaries centered around. The others were your mother, of course, and his family. I will not tell you any more than that-it is Severus' tale to tell, not mine. I may be an evil Dark Lord, but I do not betray my minions. Unless, of course, they try to kill me." Voldemort's face twisted into an evil grin and Harry repressed a shudder. "Then I have no moral obligations to keep me from doing anything to them."

"Wh-what do you do with them?" Harry had to pause to wet his suddenly dry mouth. Voldemort shrugged carelessly.

"Unfortunately for them, torture. I cannot have anyone thinking to kill me. By torturing those that dare to try, I stop many assassination attempts before they even happen." Voldemort smirked. "One day, I can see in their eyes they plan to kill me. Next day, one tries, and poof! Now that intent is replaced with fear."

Harry sighed. "That is why no one supports you, you know. They hear tales of how you treat your followers and even muggle-haters don't want to join you anymore. Hopefully, you won't be Crucioing your followers anymore, will you?"

Voldemort frowned. "How else do you expect them to obey?"

Harry turned and banged his head against the nearest solid object-Dumbledore's bookcase, no longer an object of fear. "You have got to be friggin' kidding me…HELLO? POSITIVE reinforcement?"

Voldemort shook his head in amusement at his antics. "My Death Eaters are the proverbial mule, stubborn enough not to go for the carrot in front of them without the stick behind them."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Whose friends raised with the carrot beat whose followers raised with a stick?"

Voldemort snorted. "I told them not to kill you."

Harry's other eyebrow rejoined the other. "You told them the same for my friends?"

Voldemort actually growled. "Damn brat! Alright, your pathetic friends beat Lucius and several others! WITH the Order's help and one casualty." Harry copied Voldemort's growl. "Either way, I cannot change my approach now. I had to use intimidation once I got out of Hogwarts, or else they would not have listened. By the time they would, my character was firmly entrenched within their minds until it took over. If I had stopped, they would have assumed me an imposter. I was not about to risk everything I had accomplished so I could be nicer."

Harry scoffed. "Nicer? Nicer? Nice would be throwing a Christmas Party or giving out $3 gifts. Not torturing your minions is just plain decent, not nice."

Voldemort smirked. "Lord Voldemort doesn't do decent."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Mr. Indecent. I am opening the next memory now." Harry put back the first book and pulled out the one next to it, while the ghastly purple and pink book floated next to him. The new book was a bright red and gold color, matching the coloring of the Gryffindor house but speckled with twinkling stars. As he opened the book, his mindscape disappeared again and reformed into the Gryffindor dorms. He saw himself lying on his bed, sleeping comfortably for the first time in many years, happy that he would no longer have to deal with the Dursley's.

Harry frowned as a thought occurred to him. "How are we seeing this? I am asleep right now."

Voldemort responded. "True, but your magic was still registering your surroundings, along with all of your other senses except sight, so it was able to build this picture for you to look at now."

Harry was about to reply when the room, quiet except for Ron's loud snoring, was disturbed. Dumbledore gently walked in, robes dragging silently slightly behind him. He walked over to Harry and waved his wand gently. The sound of Ron's snores immediately faded. Dumbledore walked closer until he was standing next to Harry's head. He gently lowered his wand until the tip rested on Harry's scar. Images suddenly blurred out Harry's and Voldemort's view, flashes of Harry's entire childhood flying by. Dumbledore could still be clearly seen though, and at the beginning his face was covered with a slight frown. It grew worse when he overheard the Dursley's talking about killing him, but it turned into a smile when he saw Harry's mindset after his teacher's death. Harry hissed in anger as he saw it.

After almost an hour, the pictures stopped showing. By now, Harry was whimpering and tears leaked out of the corner of his eyes. Dumbledore started murmuring under his breath. "You are a good little savior, aren't you? You are already so willing to sacrifice yourself for someone else…I just need you to cultivate that until you are willing to die at a moment's notice." Dumbledore pulled back, a slight bit of horror on his face. "For the Greater Good, of course! No, one day, yours will be a noble death."

Harry frowned. "There he goes again, with the capital Greater Good." He felt disgusted with his headmaster. "Is this how he sleeps peacefully at night? Claiming that this is all the Greater Good?"

Dumbledore continued, paying no attention to the sixteen year-old Harry. "I need you to be a good Gryffindor, my boy. You must be rash, no need to think quite so much. I see that you are used to holding back for your cousin-remember, you are just naturally that bad. You are a Gryffindor, not a Ravenclaw. You must be brave…which you already are. Stay that way, my dear boy. Of course, as a Gryffindor, you must look up to the amazing, awe-inspiring headmaster, the greatest the school has ever seen." To the side, the Dark Lord looked sick at this statement. Gagging, he made retching noises behind Dumbledore's back. "Of course, you cannot grow close to Snape…he cared to much for your mother. He might still like you if you play your cards right, and then he would no longer be useful, would he?" Dumbledore murmured, partially to himself, it seemed. "No…you will feel inclined to be even ruder in his presence. After all, you are a Gryffindor…and you will always be a Gryffindor. Fear what the hat suggested, Harry. You do not want to be in the same house as the Malfoy pawn and your parents killer, do you?"

Voldemort gagged. "Was I just compared to the horrid brat?" Harry managed a small snicker at his expense even though he felt completely disgusted by what Dumbledore was doing.

"So, my dear boy, do everything you can to avoid being seen as Slytherin. Be friends with the most Gryffindor person you can find here. Follow his example. Do not tell anyone about your dark side." Dumbledore practically hissed the last words, his face transforming into hate. "No, tell nobody about your ability to talk to snakes, or of the pain you feel with Quirrel…or when Snape or the esteemed headmaster try to get into your mind…stay vulnerable to me. Be the perfect little pawn for the distinguished Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore… follow his every move he gives you…for the Greater Good, of course."

Chuckling, Dumbledore pulled back. "Sleep well, my dear boy." Harry whimpered and slowly stopped crying as Dumbledore left. The book hovering near the teenaged Harry gained a new splattering of black as the room slowly dissolved back to Harry's mind.

Harry picked up the book that had reappeared in his hands and replaced it on the bookshelf. He stood silently for a moment, before turning to his companion. "So, what do you think?"

Voldemort frowned. "For one, it seems he is lightly suggesting you support the Greater Good and that you respond to that." He turned to Harry with a smirk. "Would you join me then, for the Greater Good, Harry? Serve the Greater Good for me?"

Harry felt his head began to spin. He was going to reply with something sarcastic before he fell to the floor, clutching his head. "Nnnnhh…" he muttered, feeling his head spin. He felt a sudden desire to serve the person who had asked. The sensation overtook his brain, slowly. He was shaking where he was crouched, shaking his head no while his mouth said yes. "Of course.," he said, his voice taking on the tone of a puppy dog begging to follow knowing it would be kicked. "For the Greater Good, I will do anything…" Harry shook his head, looking vaguely like a wet dog drying its fur. "No, not for Dumbledore, not his Greater Good…" He trailed off for a moment. "Of course," he said weakly. "Anything for the Greater Goo-" Harry collapsed in on himself, falling to the floor in a fetal position. "No-no! Shut up, shut up, shut up! I don't care about the illustrious Dumbledore's Greater Good! I do what is right, what I know is right, and what I want! I will not-" Harry coughed weakly, blood splattering on the ground. "I will not bow to the whims-" Harry broke off again, blood flying from his mouth and covering the floor. "Not to the whims of a self-centered, pawn-playing, chess-master of a headmaster!" Harry forced the words out before collapsing entirely, coughing with the strain he had put himself under.

Voldemort rushed over. "Harry? Are you-damn it, are you alright?" The Dark Lord knelt in the blood that was pooling and supported Harry. "Damn it Harry, it was just a joke!" Worry colored his tone. "Come on, Snakeling, you have to be alright!" He called out when Harry did not stop coughing. "Damn it…come on, Potter!" He helplessly thunked him on the back several times. "You are not allowed to collapse on me! Do not let the headmaster effect you this much!"

Harry heard his voice as if from a distance as Voldemort carefully wrapped his arms around Harry's body, wracked with coughs. He felt light headed and woozy. Was this Dumbledore's revenge for not serving his Greater Good? Would he die inside his own mind? Voldemort was panicking, he knew that. Would his sanity stay intact? Harry doubted it through the cloud covering to his mind as he listened to Voldemort, hanging onto his words like a lifeline.

"You will not collapse on me, my little Snakeling. You will _NOT,_" Harry could hear the force in his voice, taking shape in his mind. "You will _NOT_ serve Dumbledore's Greater Good," he sneered. "You will follow your own set of morals, not anyone else's." Harry jerked as he felt Voldemort firmly planting the idea in his mind. Words crossed his mind, something about opposite impressions working its way through the haze as his protector's words wrote themselves deep into his subconscious and conscious. "You will live your life the way you feel you should live it. You will act how you feel you should act. You will not bow to Dumbledore, nor will you bend to his will. You will stand strong and proud, and feel your accomplishments and self-worth. The fool will not drag you down, the one many call headmaster, the _Supreme Mugwump,_ the revered Albus Dumbledore."

Harry gasped and stopped coughing as the words took hold and shadows leaked out of the bookcase in front of him, coating the ugly book-trap Voldemort had made. His trembling body stilled, and he spat out one last mouthful of blood." He lay, breathing heavily, concentrating on what his protector had said. 'Huh…guess he did not try to manipulate me after all.' Weakly, he voiced his other thoughts. "Who-would listen…to that barmy old codger…if they could…help it?" He panted.

Voldemort sagged and sighed with relief, before pulling him closer. "Don't you dare scare me like that again, Snakeling. You will not let Albus harm you. Remember that!" He said forcefully, locking those words in Harry's head like the others. Harry felt the words resound in his heart, giving him strength to carry on strong.

Harry gave him a weak grin. "I guess you were not good enough to make it without using opposite messages, huh?"

Voldemort gave a mirthless chuckle. "Here I thought I never screwed up."

Harry gave an echoing laugh."And here I thought you always screwed up. Question is, which of us was wrong? You because you did not manage to do it without your own impressions, or me because you managed to fix me when I was down?" Harry paused. "No, it was definitely you who thought wrong. You screwed up with the whole-" Harry shuddered, "Greater Good thing."

Voldemort winced. "It was not exactly my brightest moment, I suppose. Well, no harm done, it seems like it even managed to make our job a lot easier."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"We have successfully countered a majority of the prompts with just that already. Much less memories are left shadowed. Look at the book, see for yourself," Voldemort replied.

Harry looked up from the blood-stained floor and to the book. He had thought it was ugly before, but it was truly appalling now. Huge, black streaks marred the cover, clashing with the other atrocious colors. All in all, it was truly an abysmal cover for a horrible book.

"Frankly, I do not want to look at the abominable thing for another minute." Harry gave one last shudder. "Take it away, please?" He whispered. He hated how weak he sounded, but he was still hurt from the attack earlier. Voldemort's face softened.

"Of course. I cannot think of anyone who would be able to stand looking at that monstrosity for long." Voldemort pulled the book away and placed it on a stand that rose from the floor. He walked backed to Harry, who was still shivering lightly. He hesitated, and then carefully wrapped his arms around him again. "Just relax for a while, little Snakeling, and forget all about Dumbledore's Greater Good." His voice was low and soothing, and Harry automatically leaned into him. He sighed, and fell asleep in his protector's arms in his own mind very quickly, lulled by the power in his words.

Voldemort watched the sweet child in his arms, frailty showing. Normally, he despised anything that looked weak, but he knew Harry was strong, very strong. For a moment, he debated actually leaving a suggestion favoring him, but he hesitantly decided against it. Harry had some very good points earlier. He had no reason to influence Harry-he was already swaying towards where he wanted him to go without his help. It would be up to Harry to make his decision with a clear mind.

And for some reason, he did not want to betray Harry's trust. It went beyond his need to protect. For some reason…he felt a need to care for his little Snakeling.

'-_-''-_-''-_-''-_-''-_-'

**And…cut! Chapter 7 is done. Well, that was a lot quicker than last time, was it not? It is also about 500 words shorter, but you know: win some, lose some, right?**

**So, what do you think? I was going to go through the many memories, but the whole Greater Good thing just popped up out of nowhere, and I think that covers most of the manipulations. I still do not know if I will do more memories or not…**

**Last times question was: **When Voldemort refers to Severus' potion and an incident, what had happened? **I have decided to keep it as the question again this week, just reword it.** What happened to Voldemort so that he is how he is? **I love some of your responses…hilarious. Some of you are so serious too!**

**Original Chapter: December 12, 2010  
Pages: 10  
Words in story: 4,341 :,(**


	8. Pain and Protection

**Sorry!**

**Long Summary (**Because if you don't need it after all this time, you either have an amazing memory or did what I always do…read it back over from the beginning.**) : Dumbledore forced Harry to return to the Dursley's over Christmas break. Managing to break out of the house for a little while, he stumbles over a snake in the street that he takes 'home' to his hellhole before it froze to death. While at the Dursley's, Harry begins to utilize the wandless magic he just realized he had. Impressing the snake with his abilities, he discusses with it various topics-the snake's favorite being the Dark Lord. The snake helps him with his newly discovered wandless/wordless magic and occlumency.  
Harry has held suspicions for the snake's true identity, and his reaction to a newly remembered memory confirms it. The now revealed Voldemort helps Harry with his Occlumency and in banishing Dumbledore's suggestions from his mind.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I typed away any rights I may have had to Fanfiction when I published this story though them. I did not own anything anyways.**

**Warning: Pain. Lots of pain. Physical abuse, torture. It's over soon…just…hold on a little longer.**

**Abandoned to the Cold**

**8**

T_T T_T  
;_; Pain and Protection ;_;  
T_T T_T

Harry stirred on the floor, disturbing the invisible snake that was hanging from his shoulders. He felt himself rising from within his mind, coming back to his physical body from his mental room. He slowly opened his eyes, scowling as he saw the pitiable room. Riddle hissed a protest as Harry slowly stood up, almost losing balance for a moment when it surprised him. He concentrated for a moment, before willing the time to appear. It was 7:00 AM on December 26. He gave a small groan at what was going to happen today, a tradition he thought he had escaped when he realized he could stay at Hogwarts over term break.

_::Good morning, Riddle.:: _ Harry said to the snake as he picked up his glasses from where they were after Vernon beat him, from what felt like so long ago.

The snake sniffed as Harry waited for his eyes to refocus as they peered through the somewhat-corrective lenses. Harry made a mental note to ask the Dark Lord if there was any way to fix his vision, or at least get a better pair of glasses.

The snake gave a grunting hiss and shifted so he stayed on Harry as he stood. _:: What atrocities do your…housemates have in store for you today? :: _

Harry did not respond right away, moving to sit on his ratty bed instead. _:: Would you believe me if I said they gave me presents and paid utmost attention to me? ::_

Harry heard a decidedly un-snakelike snort. _::No.::_

He smirked. _::Then you would be wrong.:: _The snake tightened his coils slightly at Harry's amusement. _::I never said what the presents where. I told you before: they will give me the socks and T-shirt you saw before. However, that is not all they will give me. I guess they see me receiving Christmas presents as something I do not need, so they do something to counteract the good. Luckily, Vernon never wanted me to 'repay' him that way, but he…::_ Harry shifted uncomfortably. He did not know why it was harder to say now. After all, Voldemort had seen him beaten before. That was one thing though-he was still a snake to his mind before, even though he had been suspicious of his true self. Then there was the part of him that never wanted anyone else to know about this, the habitual hiding of his pain. Harry swallowed nervously, then stared straight ahead and finished his sentence. _::…he just…hurts me, I suppose. Only he does it more…viciously, more torturously than other times. I-::_ He gave another swallow, Adam's apple bobbing up and down. _::I need you to be well out of the way by ten o'clock, when he comes in. He is very…harsh with the punishment. He pays the utmost attention to me then, with Dudley encouraging him from the background. He also uses it as a lesson, of sorts, in hurting others. He shows Dudley…what makes people scream the loudest.::_

Harry removed his eyes from where they felt stuck focusing on the ceiling and looked down at Riddle. He saw red eyes blazing with murderous intent. _::He uses you…as a teaching tool in human torture?:: _Harry winced a little at the phrasing, but refrained from answering. _::This…filthy creature uses you as a way to show his son on how to inflict agony on others?:: _ Harry closed his eyes and tried to ignore the feeling of shame spreading through him and burning his chest and face at Voldemort's words. His weakness kept him in the situation, and now the Dark Lord knew the full extent of it.

_::Yeah…basically, that's right. That's why nothing will happen before 10, so his precious son doesn't have to get up early. The…lessons will take a long while to be over. Petunia leaves the house for after-Christmas sales right before they…start the lesson. Since the last time this happened was before Hogwarts, I was still in my cupboard so they took me into the kitchen. There was plenty of room in the kitchen, and the floor is made of tiles, so that made it less likely to stain after I cleaned it up later. Of course, it could also be because the knives are located in the kitchen. I was never sure which reason it was. I don't know if they will…come up here, or bring me down…:: _Harry trailed off for a moment before picking back up the conversations thread, determined to get through with his explanation. _:: Either way, you need to make sure that you are nowhere near me, or hidden under something. I know that they cannot see you unless you will it, but they might notice blood sticking to something in midair. :: _ Harry winced at the end, but managed to keep a determined mask on his face. He felt a wave of compassion run through his bond.

Riddle stayed silent, as though thinking. Harry said nothing, just watched as the snake idly wound around him. He felt that the snake did not realize it was doing it, so deep in its thoughts Voldemort was. Harry was hoping that the sometimes-invisible snake would stay away. He had the first times Harry had been hurt, but he had not cared for Harry then, and only saw him as an enemy that desperately needed defeating but was his temporary ticket to staying alive. 'Does he care for me now?' Harry wondered. He thought back to the mental exercise, and the care he had shown when he was taking care of Harry. 'I think he might. At least, a little bit.' It was a very odd feeling for Harry. Someone seemed to care about him-him! 'Just Harry!'

Just then, the subject of Harry's wonder spoke up. _:: I…do not know if I will be able to do that. It is a disgrace that they are allowed to hurt you at all, but to torture you with the sole intent of maliciously causing pain? :: _Harry resisted the grin threatening to show on his face. The powerful wizard had promised his protection earlier, and he was displaying the inability to watch Harry hurt more. It warmed Harry inside. The man-snake former-enemy future-ally cared for him! His face fell as he thought about what prompted his thoughts.

_::You must. This is it. The last time I have to put up with anything horrifyingly brutal before summer. Several days after this, I get to go back to school. So, they cannot hurt me-too badly, at least, and then they have to stop so I can heal. Sure, they realize how quickly I heal, but they don't know just how quick I am at fully healing. I will be perfectly fine by the time I am back on the Hogwart's Express. In the meantime, the pain is not that bad…::_ Harry trailed off at the lie. The pain was a complete witch while healing. However, he could not tell the suddenly over-protective Voldemort that, now, could he?

The snake in question let out a furious hiss. _::You're a fool to believe you could lie to me. I can sense you know the excruciating pain you'll be in, how you are comparing it to the Cruciatus Curse. ::_

Harry winced and leaned back. He should not have shown Riddle how to pick things up from his mind-but how could he not have sensed his thoughts, when Harry was broadcasting them so desperately? _::I'm sorry…and I know, but I have to take it. Just one more time, and it will be over. This will be it. If I cannot handle it this one last time, everybody will know, and I don't know what Dumbledore will do to me. I have to handle the Dursley's, because I cannot handle Dumbledore-not yet. Just one more time, a little more time, that's all it has to be. I can find a way. Just let me handle the pain one more time, and wait. :: _By the end of his plea, Harry was not sure of what he was saying anymore, but he could not let Voldemort interfere. This was it. If he couldn't take this last bit of pain, Dumbledore would find out and he would do something to Harry-he knew it. It had happened before. He shuddered. Not again. _::Just…please, I am begging you, leave them alone. They will get their just deserts later. Now, though-please just wait…::_

The snake was hissing angrily, but subsided. _::I do not like this, Potter. Ensure that they do not kill you or permanently maim you. If they do, retribution will be even more harshly demanded. :: _Riddle wound himself around Harry in a facsimile of a hug, squeezing gently before moving away. He gently slid off of Harry and under the bed, hiding in the shadows.

Harry sighed with mixed relief and loss. He once again imbibed the need to see the time in his magic, once again conjuring the time. December 26, 1996. 9:57 AM. Harry sighed and let his magic fade. The words disappeared, shimmering away into empty air. He began mentally calling up the strength he would need to endure through the upcoming pain. He felt waves of encouragement come from the back of his mind. Apparently Voldemort had been listening in on Harry's thoughts. He sent his gratitude through the link, and received back a feeling of acknowledgement. He had just drawn in another breath when he heard voices coming up the stairs.

"I get the freak this time, dad. You always have all the fun. It's my Christmas present!" Harry heard Dudley's nasal whine come from the next room over. He swallowed a shudder of fear and drew himself together. He would not fall apart. This was the last trial of the Dursley's. He would make- "I want to make him cry, Daddy! Come on! I've been practicing on stuff, I know what to do!"

Harry felt chills go up his spine at his beefy uncle's response. "I understand. My little tyke's a big man now; he thinks he knows more than his old man." There came a very disgusting chuckle at the end of his sentence. "Why don't we see who can make him scream the loudest, eh, Dudders?"

The door slammed open. Harry winced as Dudley forced his girth through first, with Vernon following behind. His eyes widened as he saw the knives in their hands. They were gleaming, butcher bright, thirsting for blood-Harry's blood, his blood. Dudley stepped closer, and without any prelude, sliced open Harry's right arm from the top of his shoulder to his elbow, splitting the tattered bandages and Harry's skin. Harry gasped as searing pain flared down the thin line. He could tell it was not deep, but it was obvious they were not going to make this easy on him. Vernon chucked as Harry's blood began to drip down his arm onto the floor.

"Now, son, don't make him faint too quickly. That ruins all the fun." So saying, Vernon bent closer, and made Harry wish he could lean back in disgust. He could not for two reasons: the bed behind him, and the torturers in front of him. So, Harry just stayed still as Vernon encroached onto his personal space. "Are you ready, runt? Today we're going to slit you open." Harry shuddered, knowing the truth and threat lying in his words as Vernon smirked. There were no reasons for them to hold back today. They could and would do anything short of something obviously and permanently disfiguring. Harry's worst scars came from this day, every year.

Suddenly, Vernon cuffed him hard enough in the head he was flung across the room, hitting the door with a dull thud. He stifled a moan as the gash on his arm tore open wider. He managed to open his eyes, closed after he was sent flying, to see Dudley lumbering after him again. He watched silently as Dudley thrust his knife into him again. The sharp blade sliced through his meager clothing and his pasty skin, leaving a large gash along his stomach.

Dudley pulled back for a second, grinning. When Harry did nothing, said nothing, and moved nowhere, he frowned. Harry just sat silently as blood dripped from the wound stretching across his front, arms hanging limply at his sides. "Huh…normally they curl up when you do that…" Dudley muttered to himself. Harry almost smiled grimly at not meeting Dudley's expectations. His instincts were in fact demanding for him to curl up, protect his vital organs, but he knew better than to move or even respond. No use making the torture sequence even harder than it was without any reason.

Dudley leaned back in and smirked. "Guess we have to make him." Vernon chuckled behind him as Dudley lifted the knife from where it had been resting against Harry's thigh, dragging through the skin and back up to the wound, cutting a perpendicular slash into it. He twisted the knife so it was realigned with the stomach cut. Harry flinched as his skin ripped and tore with a burning pain. Dudley slowly eased the knife into the wound, cutting deeper, forcing more agony through Harry's tortured frame.

He grinned as he tormented Harry. "Like that, freak? We're bleeding the magic out of you. We might even be doing you a favor! With less blood, you have less life. With less life, it's harder for you to hurt others, work your freakish witchcraft, steal others souls."

Vernon laughed in the background. "Now Dudders, don't waste your words on this runty freak. A good taste of steel is enough for the likes of him." So saying, the large man almost gently thrust the knife into Harry's right shoulder, before harshly tearing it down his arm, cutting over the slice Dudley already gave him. Harry stifled a shriek as he felt his skin being torn and twisted away while his blood spurted across the room, some of it managing to land on Vernon, who pulled back in slight disgust.

"Filthy freak juice," he muttered under his breath while Dudley just sawed the blade back and forth just above Harry's ribs. A slow, savage grin spread across his features as a sadistic idea occurred to the pig. "This pale skin of yours…what would happen to you if we just tore it away?"

Harry's eyes widened as both Dursleys chuckled. Were they actually going to skin him? Harry closed his eyes as his brain provided him the answer. Yes; they were going to skin him. He felt Dudley wrench his left arm forward, forcing his eyes open in surprise, while leaving the knife he had been playing with stuck inside Harry's body. He watched through pain-filled gaze as Dudley pulled out a new knife and harshly tracing it along his skin.

"Careful, Duds," Vernon spoke up suddenly. "Not too much, we don't want him to have something to whine to his friends about when he's back in his freak-school." Belying his words, he traced his knife back up Harry's arm and down his chest, leaving a thin line of blood pooling up in its trail. Dudley began testing Harry's arm, making shallow cuts while Vernon continued pulling the knife down Harry's body all the way to his feet, leaving ruined clothes and broken skin in his wake. Harry let out a short scream as the knife suddenly dug into the underside of his foot while Dudley ripped off his first bit of Harry flesh, sending it flying off his knife to the other side of the room.

Harry whimpered as the torture continued, trying to close his eyes and keep his breathing steady while the Dursleys mercilessly abused his body. Breathe in slowly, hold it in and hold back the pain, then let it out slowly with his fear. Breathe in and pull up bravery, hold it and keep the pain at bay, then let it all out in a harsh whimper with another vicious tear.

Tears slowly streaked down his cheeks, unchecked by him as he knew that seeing the tears gave the Dursleys evidence that the torture was working. Even in his pain battered mind, he remembered that they didn't try as hard to force him to respond when they could see proof of his pain.

His eyes almost flew back open when he suddenly felt a sensation of worry wash over him. The worry had a distinctly not-him flavor to it. Managing to overwhelm his pain with his near insatiable curiosity, he traced the feelings back to their owner- Voldemort. Focusing on their link, he could feel the anxiety practically pouring off the snake-man. He felt Voldemort notice him and almost seem to draw him away from his pain, engulfing him in his growing feelings.

Harry clung to the provided escape desperately, hanging onto the emotions protecting him and blocking out the pain threatening to smother him. He felt Voldemort's desperation, and then he felt an odd tugging feeling in the back of his mind.

Shutting out what his personal torturers were doing to his body, he focused on materializing in his mind to figure out what was causing the sensation. When he finally managed to arrive in his mental room, he gasped in shock. A blood red mist was choking the area, the lighting was dim, and the floor was shaking. Was this how his mind coped with the pain? A thick patch of fog floated through him and he nearly collapsed in agony. He would have sighed in relief as that patch moved away, if it had not left lingering bits of painful fog clouding around near his mental body,

He was distracted from his disturbing surroundings and his pain when he noticed Voldemort's door was open. Curiosity, once again taking hold, prompted him to ignore the pain and venture over to the Dark Lord's door. The door was wide open, but the red mist of pain swirled away from it as if there was an invisible barrier keeping the air from mixing.

Voldemort appeared in the doorway a moment after Harry noticed it. He stood solemnly at the doorway, and beckoned for Harry to approach. Harry's vision swam as he took a step towards the Dark Lord, but he slowly put one foot in front of the other. He was partway to the doorway when his leg suddenly gave away under him, and he collapsed with a short gasp. He lay there for a moment, panting, before he slowly pushed himself up to his knees.

He panted for breath and was standing up when another patch of pain flooded through his body, paralyzing him from the pain temporarily. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he noted that there was a lot more of the painful fog filling his mind. He was startled when he heard a sudden gasp and felt something grasp his arm. He opened his eyes, confused, and traced the unexpected hand clenching his shoulder up a solid, well-toned arm to meet Voldemort's grimacing face.

"Come on, brat," Voldemort muttered as he tugged Harry up to his feet and over to his door. "You need to get moving if you want to leave the pain behind." Harry perked up slightly, and managed to force his spasming muscles to move. Not sure what Voldemort had in mind, he just blindly followed the Dark Lord's directions and limped over to the door. He paused at the doorway, but bravely pressed forward, leaving his pain-filled mind behind.

He let out a relieved gasp as he passed the doorframe, relief flooding his no longer aching body. He looked up into Voldemort's smirking face as he straightened up, no longer clenching up in pain. "What are you…?" Harry asked slowly as looked around at a dark tunnel. It was dimly lit on either end, but the end he just came from had a sickly red cast to it.

Voldemort rolled his eyes and gently released Harry's arm. "I'm taking you away from your pain and into my mind, brat. Be very grateful for this boon; Lord Voldemort allows no one into his mind.

Harry gave the handsome man a grateful smile and quickened his pace. "Really? Is it anything like mine? Well, without the pain clouding it like it is now, but…" Harry couldn't help it; he was excited to see what Voldemort's mind was like. Would it be a library? The Slytherin common room? A jeweler's store? A throne room?

Harry blinked as he crossed the doorframe and entered Voldemort's mind. He just looked around for a few minutes, taking in his surroundings. It seemed as if he was in a private study, filled with books, a very expensive looking desk, fancy paintings, beautiful tapestries, exotic treasures …it was a beautiful, striking room. He let out a little gasp of awe.

Voldemort let out a low chuckle. "Impressive, isn't it? It looked much worse a year ago; the entire place was torn apart and there was a fog clouding the place. I only checked it once or twice after my resurrection, and I believed it was just the after-effects of the ritual being done with Wormtail and my muggle father as ingredients…" Voldemort shuddered, and Harry grimaced in disgust. "However, you have given me cause to believe that the effects were the physical representations of my insanity. As they have disappeared at the rate my mind has cleared, it lends credence to that theory. I suppose you have my gratitude for that, brat."

Harry grinned cheekily up at him, and the n turned to walk around the room a little. "This is actually pretty amazing…I wasn't really expecting the souvenirs, but it makes sense now that I've seen them. You travelled quite a bit before trying to teach at Hogwarts, didn't you?"

Voldemort nodded, and reached over to stroke a statue of a menacing vampire. "This is a trophy from Romania, the same area I met Quirrel in decades later."

Harry grimaced. "Did you have to come back on the back of his head? That could _not_ have been pleasant for either you or him." Harry did pause to take a closer look at the statue and noticed that something dripped from the vampire's fangs onto its pedestal.

Voldemort sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose in a plea for patience, and then answered Harry. "I could not simply take him over entirely, and where else was I supposed to manifest on his body? His stomach? His back? His admittedly decent buttocks?"

Harry snickered slightly as he tried to see what the vampire was dripping: blood or venom. "Did you have to stare at his arse a lot, or was it just the inside of his turban?" Harry paused for a moment, then wrinkled his nose. "Is that why you came back without a nose? You got so sick of the garlic smell you couldn't handle any other scents?"

The man actually gave a violent shudder as he moved behind his desk. "DON'T remind me…that was probably one of the worst years in my life. It even made some of my childhood years look positively angelic and idyllic. Let me just say: however awful it was to suffer through one class with him…I had to deal with him through 12 classes, and every moment of the day. During through every conversation he participated in, I had to listen. Every stutter he uttered, I was forced to suffer through… Or, I would, had I not frequently placed myself in a temporary stasis. I needed to regain my energy…and I needed to escape him, quite frankly."

Harry chuckled quietly as he decided that it was blood dripping from the statue, rather than any other liquid possibilities that had occurred to him while he listened. After a moment of chuckling, he quieted, and then sighed. He simply looked around the room for several minutes before finally voicing his thoughts.

"Hey…thanks. Again, I mean. I would be in a lot of pain right now…except you let me into your inner sanctuary of your mind instead of forcing me to endure…" Harry's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh shi-! Will my body be as resilient without my mind? I mean, I use magic to heal my body…what if my body takes too much damage while I am here?" Panicking, Harry spun back toward the hallway connecting their minds. "I have to go-"

He started, but he was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder. "Calm yourself. We will go back to your mind and observe the damage your body has taken, but you must take care not to lose focus of your occlumency. If you lose focus, you will likely be forced back to consciousness."

Harry nodded grimly, took a steady breath, and then strode forward. He passes through Voldemort's doorway quickly, retracing his path back to his pain-fogged mind. He hesitated at the doorway before setting his face in an expression of determination and then stepping forward. His eyes widened and he fell onto the floor as the pain suddenly overwhelmed him.

He heard a sigh, and then a grunt of pain, and suddenly Voldemort was standing above him, holding onto his arm again. He felt himself rising from the floor, being pulled up into a standing position. Harry shook his head rapidly in an effort to rid himself of the pain, but it made no difference.

Voldemort was grimacing beside him, but he spoke softly to the pained boy. "I suppose I should attempt to teach you another facet of occlumency…" He sighed before continuing. "As you have hopefully already guessed, this fog is a representation of your pain. Condense it. Push it into a corner, force it away from you. We are in your mind; you are in control, not the pain."

Harry looked up at the man before setting himself to this new task. He slowly held out a hand, palm open and fingers outstretched, before slowly curling his hand into a fist. The mist echoed his movements, spreading out before firmly retracting into a bright, blood-red ball the size of Harry's head. Harry stood on steady legs and reached out for the blood-ball, but Voldemort stopped him.

"Think, brat, about how much it would hurt to touch the condensed pain. You don't need to touch it to move it; you've done this much already without touching it. Simply will it where you want it to go; I suggest a wastebasket somewhere."

Harry gave a small smile as a small wastebasket came into existence between his book stacks, near the study table between the shelves and the fireplace. He made a gentle pushing movement with his clenched fist, and gestured down to the basket. It did not respond as quickly to his moves this time, but it did eventually move where he intended it too. He hesitantly looked to Voldemort for more instructions once the task was complete. "Did I do it right?" he asked, oddly self-conscious.

The older man simply smirked. "Are you in any pain?" Harry slowly shook his head from left to right. "Then yes, you did it right, brat." Harry gave the man a small grin, which was returned in another small smirk. "Now, you wanted to check on your body, correct?" Harry gave a short nod, his worry returning. "Then you will need to create a window to the outside, or some other way to view the outside from the inside."

Harry bit his lip as he thought for a moment, considering his options. He could create a larger window on the 'door' to outside, but that would also mean it was easier to see in. He could create a peephole in the door, but that was far too awkward ad difficult to work properly. Harry quickly came to the decision that the door would not be a good medium for viewing outside.

Should he create a window in the wall? He eyed his plain green walls thoughtfully, before deciding that simple windows would suffice for now. Once he decided that, he focused on the problem of the windows. Should he create two, one for each eye? Or should he just create one with the combined visions so it appeared normal? Or perhaps… he could create a mirror that tapped into his magic that could apparently 'see' his surroundings, even when he was asleep. He gave a sharp nod to himself. That would work.

Within moments, there was a large, brand-new window on the other side of his 'outside door' that presented a gory image. His body lay bleeding sluggishly on the floor, curled in on itself while the two Dursleys were already gone. Harry frowned at this oddity. They never left so quickly. It had only been-what, 30 minutes, tops?..- since he entered into his mind. He summoned a diary he just –knew- existed, -knowing- it contained the knowledge of what happened before it was recorded into different books as well.

He searched for the last filled page, knowing that it would contain the answers he wanted, and frowned as he read it. He winced at the description of his wounds, and flinched at the retelling of what suffering his body had undergone. Finally, he found the part where he had retreated into his own and Voldemort's mind. He found it fascinating, in a morbidly curios sort of way, to her what happened to his body when he wasn't present.

His entire left forearm was missing its skin, and his right arm had been shredded. His feet had been ripped apart, and he had been close to being gutted. As it was, his ribs had received extensive damage as well. His bones had still been slightly bruised from the earlier beating, and had not responded well to their rough treatment. His body was slowly bleeding out, as it had been for the past 4 hours.

Wait-4 hours? Harry questioned Voldemort. "It says that it's been 4 hours since I entered our minds; how is that possible? It's only been about half an hour, surely?"

The taller man rolled his eyes from where he was near Harry. "Time doesn't flow steadily in your mind. I thought you had realized this after how long you spent in your mind the other day. Your entire life could flash before your eyes in a moment here, or you could ponder on one sentence for hours. For the last few real-time hours, you have been doing both. Your time sense will be a little out of whack."

"However, as it is clear the filthy animals are gone, you need to return to your body from your mind and heal it. The pain from before is gone, but it is building up again." Voldemort nodded to the light mist that was slowly oozing out of his mental walls. "We can work with your mind more later. However, your body is the pressing matter at this moment. You need to return to it and repair as much damage as you can."

Harry slowly nodded, closing his eyes before slowly exiting through the door back into his broken body.

Voldemort stared after him for a moment as the door closed. He had done more than he had expected he would. He had only intended to reassure the boy, or perhaps take the slightest edge off of his pain. He had not expected to feel his heart wrenching and twisting as he watched the painful display. He had not anticipated pulling the boy into his own mental fortress, straight into the core of his mind, bypassing all of his protections.

He had watched the boy struggle to focus, zoning in and out as he tried to concentrate and follow his orders. He had seen the pain obey his will almost startlingly easily, showing that the boy was not stranger to pain and had a solid grip over it. He had not anticipated being impressed as the boy pushed through his pain.

He had definitely not foreseen the brat leaving him in his mind. Had he realized that he was practically giving his greatest enemy permission to manipulate and mold his mind as he wished? Malicious thoughts appeared and disappeared just as quickly. He sighed, knowing that this new fondness to the Chosen Brat would not let him maliciously manipulate his mind.

Instead, Voldemort banished the new pain to the wastebasket the old pain had been forced to. He frowned and looked into the wastebasket, realizing it was spelled like the standard Hogwarts wastebasket; the contents disappeared after several minutes. Looking back up, he realized there was something else wrong in Potter's room, but he couldn't quite identify it… It wasn't a metal manipulation of the old bee's, so he decided to let it rest for now. He could handle it later, along with all of his other problems.

He twitched and decided that approach would probably work, except for the fact that Potter only seemed to be adding several new ones as he erased an old problem. With a sigh, he turned and left Potter's mental sanctuary and retreated back into his own mind, and from there, his infuriating yet pleasing snake body.

'-_-''-_-''-_-''-_-''-_-'

**Holy crows! Has it really been two years to the day since I first created this story? (The answer is yes.) …And…has it also really been…1 year, 6 months, and 4 days since I last updated? Ehehe….oops. Erm…well, at least now you know it hasn't been abandoned…right?**

**I had been stuck at the same spot for a year and a half. I picked my story back up today when Vernon and Dudley walked into Harry's room. I just…hated to really cause Harry more pain. So, as you may have noticed, he managed to escape the pain.**

**Sigh…how long until Hogwarts starts back and he can escape the Dursleys? (No, seriously…when does the next term begin?)**

**So, the answer to the question…I've been debating actually telling you then answer. I think, on account of all the wonderful reviews I have received…I will. I will give out points for partial credit if your answer was a little close, or I liked it a lot.**

Voldemort has been taking a potion to restore his human appearance, as he has already told Harry. However, he also had Snape working on a potion to help him develop his animagus form at the same time. This potion takes a ridiculously long time to brew, which is one of the reasons it took so long for the Marauders to complete it.

Voldemort made his way into Snape's potion's lab in his base to take the potion. Snape was at Hogwarts, and this new batch of potions only needed several simple steps to complete it. Voldemort did them correctly…but he slipped up and managed to get some of the almost complete animagus potion into his restoring potion when he was magically moving the ingredients.

He was moving and mixing the ingredients magically rather than being careful because he was in one of his tempers, and was impatient. He managed to either dip an ingredient into the cauldron, or accidently levitated a small portion of the liquid into his potion without noticing (to be decided later).

Either way, the Animagus potion mixed and he was forced into his animagus form: a magical, albino constrictor. The animagus potion is what safely allows a human to transform into an animal and back at will. The rejuvenator…well, it restored his body. So, he got extremely lucky and was not blown up, but instead easily and painlessly locked into his animagus form.

And…**That's all you get for now. Consider it a partial apology for waiting so long. The reason he blushed when he answered Harry was not because the potions mixed while he had crazy monkey sex with Snape (although I can easily see how you would guess that) but because he was being impatient and a klutz.**

Ladyroo88 – 2 points to RAVENCLAW! (You were the first to get it partially correct- good job mentioning the animagus potion.)  
Lady Logos – 1 point to SLYTHERIN! (Something definitely went wrong with the potion, alright.)  
Corpium – 1 point to RAVENCLAW! (Your reviews made me smile.)  
Cally Chloe – 1 point to SLYTHERIN! (I loved your review…and sorry for making you read it again. The extended summary should help.)  
Kitiara Woodbane – 2 points to SLYTHERIN! (Alright! Closest to the exact answer so far!)  
Sam – 1 point to Ravenlclaw. (You don't get capitals because you weren't signed in. )  
Tonks-is-cool – 1 point to RAVENCLAW! (Not exactly right, but thank you for informing me about Severus' birthday. Look to see that fixed within a week)  
Dante'sTwistedRoses – 1 point to SLYTHERIN! (Second closest so far…)  
Kyuubiluver – 1 point to SLYTHERIN!  
Kibaxkaori – 2 points to SLYTHERIN! (:3 LV is impatient~ TY for reading my other stories.)  
Sirei – 1 point to RAVENCLAW! (Don't worry- I love Snape! Dumbledore… he has his own reasons. He is only good in his own, twisted little world…but he is good there.)  
LaTiL – 1 point to GRYFINDOR! (Look for a PM from me-I loved your review and it's too long here…)  
Kingsdaughter613 – 1 point to RAVENCLAW! (I did? I guess so…I changed it a little, then.)  
hanakisa – 1 point to ALL! (Meh…close enough. Try to put in your house next time.)  
rebekahalana – 1 point to ALL! (Haha…that really brightened my day.)  
Cally Chloe – 1 point to SLYTHERIN! (…again. No, it's not just b/c you answered twice. Thank you for your encouragement! I had to bite down (ooc for me) squeals of joy when I read your message. Thank you!)  
Saskue-teme Naruto Rulz – (…Sumimasen. Reread your review and guess why… sorry)  
shadowinRW – 1 point to ALL!  
Slytherins Are Better – 1 point to SLYTHERIN! (Erm…nice answer…but you had best thank google translate.)  
RebelWithoutACause1997 – 2 points to GRYFFINDOR! (Very nice!)  
Ember Kazumi – 1 point to ALL! (Is that offer still open? B/c, if so, I beg you, please share. *Bleeds from being poked*)  
NeedForDumpsters – 1 point to ALL! (*snickers*)  
B2J – 1 point to RAVENCLAW! (I will see if I can work that in there…. )  
Relina-Chan – 1 point to RAVENCLAW!  
Dragonazar – 1 point to RAVENCLAW!  
Riddle Wraith – 1 point to SLYTHERIN!  
Reader-anonymous-writer – 1 point to ALL! (Your review was kind of disjointed…but still good.)

**Holy Crap. That was a full page in MS Word. Here are the results:**

**Slytherin in the lead with 29 points!  
Ravenclaw 2****nd**** with 22!  
Gryffindor 3****rd**** with 15!  
Hufflepuff has 10  
**

**Alright! So, I hope you enjoyed it, look forward to the next chapter within a month! (Feel free to hunt me down and sewer me if I don't) I am also going to update the others within that timeframe.**

**First Updated: June 16, 2012.  
Last Updated: June 16, 2012.  
Words w/o AN: 5,534.  
Words w/ AN: 6,681.**


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